How Is EveryBody Getting Money Upfront?
I have a deal that I am working on and have decided to assign the contract. My buyer seems very reluctant to give me any money upfront and even wants to place the deposit in escrow. I think that it may just be the common practice of this buyer--but I also think that my technique is wrong. Normally I give a purchase price to my buyer and say that the price includes the assignment fee, I do this because I do not like my buyer to know what I am making upfront because I am afraid they will low ball me just because they do not want to pay the full fee.... For those of you that are receiving all of your money upfront--is this customary, is my approach wrong, or am I just dealing with a REALLY cautious buyer? 
From the buyer's point of view: As a buyer, I would be cautious. There are so many scams out here. I passed on a deal last month because the seller (flipping I'm sure) would not verify that he had a right to sell and was squeamish about my wanting to put the $1000 dep. in escrow as opposed to his personal bank account. All he had to show me was that he had the assignment rights and we could have agreed on a title company to hold the escrow. If that was asking too much, then so be it. I would NEVER just hand over money to any Joe Smiley that says "have I got a deal for you."
Other than that, someone else will probably have a good answer for how to handle this scenario. I'm still learning. [ Edited by makingaliving on Date 11/21/2003 ]