What is Earnest Money?

Earnest money is a money deposit made by a buyer to a seller as a sign of good faith that you are seriously interested in buying a home.  This earnest money is credited to the down payment at closing.  It is held in a non-interest bearing trust account until the time of closing. Typically, the buyer submits $500 to $1000 with the offer.  Once the offer has been accepted, the transaction moves forward to Purchase and Sales where another deposit is required.  This amount combined with the offer deposit will come to 5% of the accepted transaction amount.