Comments on: Earnest Money: Clarifying The Confusion For Pensacola Home Buyers – Part 2

By: South Charlotte Real Estate

South Charlotte Real Estate — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 04:16:12 +0000

Karl- you lay out the pros and cons expertly of earnest money deposits, clearly diagramming the 0 sum game we Realtors play. If we are representing the buy side, of course we want a minimal deposit. If we represent sellers, we want a larger committment. Now in your market, how would a low ball, but not far off, offer be received if accompanied by a large deposit check?
Interesting… Terry McDonald
ps I admit it- I like contracts,more specifically I like understanding contracts- it gives advantages to your buyers and sellers

By: Wasilla Real Estate

Wasilla Real Estate — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 08:40:52 +0000

This is a great description of the way earnest money works.

It looks like you are beginning an onlne school for real estate contracts.

Alaska is different from Pensacola in that the brokers usually hold the earnest money.

Only occasionally is it held by the title company.

Almost always it isn’t released to either party unless both the buyer and seller agree on the disbursement.

Marty

By: Karl

Karl — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:15:27 +0000

It may be more standard around here now also, being our market is so down. I still like to try and get more for my sellers if at all possible.

By: Port Orange Juice

Port Orange Juice — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 17:39:25 +0000

It seems that the earnest money amount
offered on contracts can be regionally influenced. Many people here in the Daytona Beach area make offers with $500 to $1000 earnest money deposit on a home in the 100K to 200K range.

Typically, a seller should get as much as possible in order to make sure that the potential buyers will think long and hard before they walk away from a large deposit.

In this cool market though, sellers may have to make some concessions on offers such as not requiring a huge deposit from the buyer, although we all know that this is a big psychological commitment for a buyer.