From what you write, it appears that you *may* be able to terminate the contract and get your deposit back. If the seller's missed the closing date due to their failure obtain required permits or do something required of them, they would be in breach of the contract; moreover, it is a material breach, in that the closing date--especially when the contract states that "time is of the essence"--is a critical term, going to the heart of the contract, and therefore one whose breach could allow termination.The key issue, however, would be confirming that missing the closing date was due to the seller's failure--if, for example, you could have closed but chose not to (i.e. you could close without the permits, then either get the permits later--with seller paying for them--or sue the seller for monetary compensation), then it could possibly have been you who were in material breach by not closing; that is, for a nonmaterial breach of seller's, the recourse may be to close anyway, then seek apppropriate compensation. Not every breach by a seller allows the buyer to terminate the contract.You therefore need to review the contact and the situation with an attorney, to see who breached what when, and how significant or material that breach was, to determine who has what recourse.