How much earnest money/deposit do you put down when Wholesaling?

When you are about to place a property under contract how much money do you usually put down to make the contract valid??

Actually, contract law is such that there is no requirement for any earnest money to make a contract offer valid. There is a requirement that there be some sort of consideration (a promise to do something, a promise not to do something, money, etc.) before the contract is finalized.

Realtors and title companies want to see the customary $500. It all depends on how you find your buyer and your relation with the title company. I don’t buy off of MLS and I deal directly with the sellers. I usually give them no earnest money and $20 option fee.

In my opinion… I typically will give the owner $2k to show them that I am a serious buyer… Or if it is a pre-foreclosure I will give them enough to help them make their payments current…

Good luck :beer

If I’m dealing with an owner & it’s not a pre-foreclosure, I usually put down no more than $100 - just to show them I’m serious. With my out-clause, it’s pretty easy to get it back if things don’t work out.

I haven’t tried this yet, but I’ve been thinking about providing the earnest money after my due diligence period is up. It looks like that may be easy to do in Texas contracts.

For short-sales, the most I put down is $10. I’ve even done $1 before. But when I submit the SS package to the bank, I give them a proof of funds - i.e., letter from a hard money lender.