Hello Eveyone,
I’m looking for your opinons on good faith deposts when buying a home. What are the pros and cons, what are the advantages and disadvantages, what a good size deposit is, etc… Give me what you have my ears are open to all that are willing to speak.
Thank You,
Each state is different and I would rely on my real estate agent for advice on this. But here they call it earnest money. Earnest money is usually $500 to $1000. I usually offer them $500. This shows them that you are serious about them taking the house off the market so that you can enter negotiations. I gave my real estate agent a personal check for $500 with no name filled in. He faxes a copy of the same check with the name scribbled in the pay to section with each offer he makes. If we have a deal and the house goes to the inspection and due diligence period, they will usually want me to send certified funds. These funds are placed with a title company. The funds are refundable if I cancel for one of the stated reasons in the offer letter. I always put into my offer letter that I can cancel in 10 days for any reason. I will put stipulations on refund of earnest money if I find something screwy with the house. An example could be if it looks like they are building something down the street and I want to make sure it is not a garbage dump, then I would want out of the deal and not lose my earnest money.
Thank you for your input.