earnest money

I would say work with another agent to present your offer. If its a bank owned property theres no way around this,and you must present a check for $500-$1000. Check can only be cashed if your offer is accepted. But if its a reg sale by owner, listed with a realtor, then i would say present your offer thru another broker. Earnest money is only due after your offer is accepted. As far as proof of funds a letter should be sufficient, from a reputable proof of funds transactional funding that you can get online. Hope this helps.

I agree with Louie. Find a real estate agent who will fight for you. He/she can explain that your earnest money, even if deposited, is refundable until all contingencies are eliminated, so it's no big deal to have it deposited.

If the issue is with the seller not wanting to cooperate, then it probably means that they are not that motivated to sell and probably won't accept your discounted offer anyway.

If your agent tells you that this is the law in PA, ask him/her to show the law to you so you can read it. If it really is the law, then you will just have to be patient and only make offers for as many properties you can afford to cover in Earnest Money Deposits.

Good luck.

I make many offers every week. Here in California To actually make an offer all I do is submit a POF letter and a copy of a check with the purchase agreement. Underline copy. With a copy it is not possible for anyone to cash it until you are ready. When and if the offer is accepted they will want the money. You are not required to give it to them until after the contigency period. You can also arrange to overnite the check or wire funds. A good way to extend by a day or so the contigency period if you are in a pinch. Louie is right though. The best thing you can do is find a realtor that has your best interests at heart and will fight for you. When you find one like that put him/her on your Christmas list and be generous.

^ that was the info I was looking for ! I have been driving myself NUTS looking to figure out how to deal with earnest money. Every bank or attourney I have gone to looking for an "Escrow" account has told me they cannot do it.

How do you guys submit offers USING an escrow account with only , say $2,000 in it and send it in with 5 offers???

I guess untill I figure that one out, I will go with the COPY of a check route!

thanks !

-Lewis

you're asking the realtor to do something he/she has never done and might never do. no, REO offers will not allow that. the normal agreement is the EM must be given within 48 hours AFTER ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER. yes, we all want to be creative and that is fine, but remember what you're asking. you want them to take the house off the market for quite some time while you do your due diligence, come up with the money, whatever. would that be acceptable to you, if you were the seller or realtor? maybe you could put something in the contract that says you will give your EM within 14-30 days after acceptance of offer, but they can continue to market for back up offers in case things don't work out, making sure the contract says something about your offer being in first position and that if you present the EM within that time period, then your offer must go through. just a thought.... where you take in the seller's and realtor's concerns. remember, this has to be a WIN for everyone or it really isn't a good deal.

Dealing with REO's, they want EMD - the more, the better. Anytime a salesman tells you "I can't do that," you should always ask, "You CAN'T do that, or you WON'T?" They'll swear up and down they can't, but with any luck, they'll explain why (hopefully honestly), and then that becomes your hurdle, not the EMD itself.

Only an escrow company can open an escrow account. Attorneys (or anyone both parties trust, for that matter) can hold money in escrow, but it's not their business to do so, so don't be surprised if they say no to that. Banks definitely can't do it, because they're not in the escrow business. Plus, the listing bank is the seller. An escrow holder MUST be a neutral party to the transaction.

Also remind any and every salesman that tries to use the law as an excuse that to do so dishonestly is fraud in a court of law. Plus, if their doing so costs you any money (or deals), they can be held liable for damages. That should clear up any smoke they try to blow your way. Best of luck to you...