Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

While you need to have an attorney review your documents and determine the respective party's rights and also whether any rights have been waived, yes, very likely, the sellers can terminate the agreement. It sounds like there was a certain term in which you expected to be able to refinance the transaction, you contractually committed yourselves to that and you have not been able to do so. It sounds like there has been a year-by-year extension, but there is not likely anything compelling further extensions.

All that said, if an attorney cannot find something within the arrangement to use for your benefit, I would ask:

1. Have you tried to finance this through a different lender? The key is paying off the contract. If you can do so working with another lender, then the problem should be solved.

2. If the problem is one where everyone is hurt by the circumstances through little fault (for example the fall in property values), perhaps everyone would gain by realizing the need to renegotiate. If the seller terminates your agreement, it may be that they would have to sell for even less to another party. So, why not just work it out with you? If the loan balance with the bank is too high, then the lender needs to be requested to consider a short sale. That may involve you finding financing elsewhere based on property value, but paying off less than the full balance with this bank. As with the sellers, the lender may not do any better if the seller moves on to another purchaser or if the lender is forced to foreclose.

3. If the problem is not in the property value, but something else (for example, you not qualifying because of some credit issues), as a contract purchaser you can sell the property to avoid a default. That may not be your desire, but it may be the only way to save what you have into the deal and far better than losing out altogether.

There is a lot of speculation in the above. You need to sit down with an attorney in the area and evaluate all the circumstances.

I agree with Mr. Repay. But I want to provide a slightly different perspective, or emphasis, if you want to call it that. You do NOT say whether you have sought take-out financing elsewhere. Unless the seller's bank's consent (apparently you say that was given, which was a good thing) guaranteed you a loan at the end of the 3 years (I sincerely doubt they did but anything is possible I suppose), it is YOUR job to find the funds wherever you can, and would NOT be the seller's bank's job to fund you. So yes have an attorney review the installment sale contract and more particularly the seller's bank's consent. If you were misled in any way that reasonably gave you the impression you would get a loan from that bank, that's one thing. Otherwise my guess, and that is all it can be without reviewing the documents and possibly what led up to them being signed, is that you were made responsible to find that take-out loan, and from the information you provided, you have NOT done that.