We are in a real estate contract....that has gone on for months, with
no ending in sight.   What are our chances of getting out of it.  As
the seller, don't we have any rights at all?  The delay has caused us
to be close to bankruptcy, and put our whole family in a stress mode. 
 What exactly are my rights?

IN what state are you?  
Has the contract really been signed by both parties?
If so, what do the terms of the contract say?
Is there a real estate agent involved?
If so, do you have a contract with him (her)?

These are just more questions, but your answers could help a researcher.

If you are the seller, did the buyer make a full price offer without
any contingencies?  If so, why haven't you closed yet?

Does the buyer keep delaying the closing?

If the offer was contingent, does the buyer keep telling you that one
or more of the contingencies have not been met therefore they do not
yet have to close?

Without seeing the contract, I am trying to figure out why you as the
seller are stressed.  Just tell the buyer the deal is off and stick
another for sale sign out front!  In this market, unless the house is
either a real dog or is way overvalued, you should be able to sell it
in a minute.

Does your contract actually not have any time limit on how long the
buyer has to satisfy his contingencies?  I am reading between the
lines, but that's the only reason I can see why you feel you are stuck
in this, i.e., you accepted an offer that had a lot of contingencies
and also places no time limits on how long the buyer has to satisfy
them before the contract terminates.  If you did sign such a contract,
ouch . . .

The property is in NC.   It is a development, not a home.  The
contract was signed by both parties, but we feel that the terms of the
contract have been broken by the buyers.  There is a real estate agent
involved, but he has not been doing his job.  He can't even account
for the money that is supposed to be in escrow with him.   When I
asked for an accounting of the money he said he couldn't do it.  Our
listing agreement is over with him at this time.  It ended in February
of this year.  When I asked him if he could prove that the buyers had
the money to pay for the development, he said that was not something
he had to ask the buyers, that he knew they did, but had no proof of
this.  We dropped the price down to almost half of our asking price to
sell, and it is still not closed.  We had a lawyer from Florida send a
recession of contract to the buyers and the buyers attorney, and they
completely ignored us.
I believe that they are trying to bankrupt us, and then they can get
the money at auction.   We are really at a loss of what to do.  The
realtor never gave the buyers a copy of our Restrictions, isn't that
part of their job to inform the buyer about this?

You say, "We had a lawyer from Florida send a recession of contract to
the buyers and the buyers attorney, and they completely ignored us."

Again, why don't you just put another "For Sale" sign on the parcel
and move on?  If the buyers are in possession of your rescission
letter, it doesn't matter if they ignored it.  They are in breach, it
appears, and you have rescinded your acceptance which is an
approporiate remedy for a breach like this, so just go find another
buyer.  What am I missing?

It does sound so simple....but our attorney in Boone NC told us
yesterday that the "buyers" could slap a lis pending on us and then
tie up the property until who knows when.   If they did that, then
they would do what they wanted....we would be out of money, and it
would go to foreclosure.   if we could find an attorney in the area
that would stand up again this, one with ovaries, then we might have a
chance.  I know you have gone beyond what you should for this small
amount of money, if you can get me out of this contract, i will make
it worth your while.   This has been going on for so long, that I am
loosing my faith....thanks for being so nice.    you are a good
person.

Well sure the buyer can slap a lis pendens on the property, but so can
anyone else who has a beef with you about the property.  A lis pendens
just acts as a cloud on title to advise buyers that the seller is in a
dispute over the property and may not be able to convey good title. 
But a lis pendens does not automatically appear!  How?s the buyer
going to know to file one?  Look, I am in no position to second guess
your Boone, NC lawyer because I haven't seen the contract, but don't
let the fear of lis pendens stop you from finding a new buyer.  Here's
what happens: you find a new buyer, the title company does all the
title work to prepare for close and they either find the lis pendens
or they don't.  If they don't, you?re in the clear and you close the
deal.  If they do, then they'll typically give you a certain number of
days to get the lis pendens removed, and you?ve got a good legal basis
to do that based on your rescission letter.

How's the buyer going to know that you are doing this?  How will they
know to file a lis pendens?  Are they going to drive by the property
every day making sure there's no new for sale sign on it?  Just
quietly place a new sign on it, find a new buyer, turn it over to the
title company to set up for closing and close it as fast as possible. 
 Sure the buyer could sue you after the fact, but at least you have
sold the property!  You cannot do anything to stop the buyer from
suing you--that's just a fact.

We are going to contact the people that have said they want to buy
lots from us tomorrow.  If they have not been scared away by the
"contract" then, we will sell the property to them, and let the chips
fall where they may.  I don't know why the attorneys in Boone are so
hesistant to fight this with us.  Mine even said that I should sign
another listing agreement with the realtor that has caused so much
trouble for us.   We have run across this since the beginning with
both realtors and attorneys.  This is the
property...http://www.BlairMountainEstates.com if you wanted to take a
quick look.