earnest money during short sale???
How do you handle earnest money when attempting a short sale?
Since the homeowners will be receiving no money, it leads me to believe that there should be no earnest money exchanged. But isn't it necessary for there to be consideration given to make a contract enforceable?
Can someone clarify for me?
Whenever putting a home under contract, you should put an earnest money deposit to make it a legal transaction. But, you should NEVER give the sellers the deposit. ALWAYS put the deposits into an escrow account with the title company/RE attorney who is doing the closing. Since it is going to be short saled, then you can put down as little as $10 or up to $1000. It depends on you.
Tanya
It sounds to me like it is a little more difficult then needed to put $10 in an escrow account. It will cost more then that just to have the account opened with my attorney. Is it still a legally binding contract if no earnest money is offered?
It just seems unnecessary in a short sale.