Real Estate

Articles and Information about Real Estate

NetFinancial | Institutions | Loans
Colleges and Universities | Search Engines

Good Faith Deposit - Real Estate Transactions


In a real estate transaction, a touchy issue is how much trust the seller has in a buyer. The existence of a good faith deposit helps put a seller at rest.

Good Faith Deposit

If you are selling your home, condominium or other real estate, you should always require a buyer to make a good faith deposit. The good faith deposit simply establishes that the buyer is serious and, to some extent, has the financial capacity to follow through on the purchase.

The amount of the good faith deposit is dependent upon the agreed sale price of the real estate. Although percentages vary from state to state, a cash deposit equal to three percent of the sales price is typical. For instance, the deposit would be $9,000 for home selling at a price of $300,000. As with most transactions, this percentage is negotiable. I don't recommend that you accept anything less than two percent.

Once the buyer and seller agree to the amount of the good faith deposit, you have to figure out what to do with the deposit. Importantly, the seller should not hold the deposit as doing so could make the buyer very uncomfortable. Instead, the money should be deposited with a third party and held "in trust." Potential third parties include escrow and title insurance companies as well as an attorney if your state requires their involvement.

A good faith deposit acts like an insurance option for a seller. Moving through escrow can take 30 to 60 days, during which the property is off the market. The good faith deposit essentially compensates the seller for this time in the event the buyer is unable to follow through on the purchase of the property.

Depending on the laws in your state, a buyer who can't close will lose the deposit. Typically, the only exception to this is when the seller allows language indicating the deposit will be returned if the buyer can't get a home loan. Of course, including such language can open the seller up to repeated frustration when bad credit buyers repeatedly fail to get funding.

Good faith deposits are a fundamental part of a real estate transaction. Buyers should expect to pay them and sellers should demand them.

Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing homes for sale by owner, "FSBO", properties. Are you thinking, "Should I sell my home?" Visit http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home sale for free for one month.


MORE RESOURCES:

Johnson has magic touch for real estate
Chicago Tribune, United States - 18 hours ago
Canyon-Johnson, formed in 1998, has financed 31 real estate developments in 13 states, including Illinois, and Washington. It launched its third and biggest ...
Former NBA star builds a second career, and a fortune, in ... Austin American-Statesman
all 2 news articles


Real estate firm gets into gas biz
Bizjournals.com, NC - 21 hours ago
Bunnell Hill Development, part of Lebanon-based real estate company Henkle Schueler and Associates Inc., has opened two Big Mike's Gas N' Go locations, ...
Radio roots run deep: Palec mixes music with real estate Bizjournals.com
Multifamily property sales break dry spell Bizjournals.com
all 235 news articles


Gulf region increasingly attractive against global property trends ...
Al-Bawaba, Jordan - 4 hours ago
The report revealed that the value of the real estate capital market reached US$12 trillion in 2007, up 18% on the previous year. ...


New York Times

Lax Real Estate Decisions Hurt Starbucks
New York Times, United States - Jul 4, 2008
The company has long been known in the world of commercial real estate for its expertise at selecting prime locations and its fearlessness in establishing ...
Another major flaw in Starbucks (SBUX) management BloggingStocks
600 Starbucks to Close, Hope Anew for Fair Trade? Bay Area Indymedia
all 13 news articles


Pinellas failed to learn real estate lessons of 1920s
Tampabay.com, FL - 16 hours ago
It's an outline of the 1920s Florida real estate boom and bust. But historical amnesiacs can be mistaken for assuming it describes the real estate roller ...


Real Estate Investors & Small Business Owners will get their ...
Emailwire - 18 hours ago
COM, July 05, 2008 ) Romulus, MI--Richard White, real estate, attorney, and noted author will be one of the members of the panel. Markwei Boye, accountant ...
Mark Maupin Announces New Location for National Real Estate ... Emailwire
all 3 news articles


World's most expensive luxury real estate markets
Times of India, India - 15 hours ago
The housing boom, which spread across many of the world's finest luxury destinations, is finally tailing off. Still, prices in London, Monaco, Manhattan, ...


Ri8ng on real estate
National Post, Canada - 18 hours ago
With a CD due this fall, and a full-time job designing luxury homes, Sergio Galli, guitarist for the '80s rock band Platinum Blonde, is a hard guy to pin ...


Radio roots run deep: Palec mixes music with real estate
Bizjournals.com, NC - Jul 4, 2008
He's been one of metropolitan Milwaukee's most prominent commercial real estate brokers in recent years, handling some of the area's biggest deals including ...


Real Estate Transfers
Rocktown Weekly, VA - 20 hours ago
Brian H. and Kristin V. Augustine to Matthew L. Csady and Melanie K. Laliker, 201 E. Bank St., Bridgewater, Ashby District, $247450. ...

Real-Estate - Google News

Currency Trading | Investing | Leadership | Negoatiation | Real Estate | Stocks and Mutual Funds | Taxes
home | NetFinancial | Institutions | Loans | Colleges and Universities | site map
Search Engines | EZmatic | 0pops | GetSonic | TrafficFish | Health
© 2006