Online House Hunting

When you buy a house the earnest money should be paid by check or how? escrow help please?

There is a house that I saw online that looks pretty nice and I am interested in it however if I go and see the house do I have to put earnest money down? Do I pay by check or should I wait till I contact the bank where I am going to be getting the mortgage from first? I just wanna protect myself, How will I be sure whom owns the house before giving earnest money. Right now I am searching the net and I am getting emails from someone saying they can show me some houses to look at, but when I search the link it says some other real estate agents name on the house that is being sold. I am not saying this guy is not legit *the right person* who is representing the seller, I am just concerned and want to know the process for putting earnest money down? Now if I put cash down and they give me a receipt is that a sure way of protecting myself and the money that I put down as a good faith effort, earnest money. The bottom line is I need to know the process for buying a house! The actual house will be sold by another real estate agent I believe. I am just curious? Is it common practice for a real estate agent to send me a list of houses for sale via the web and then he is not the actual realtor involved in selling the house? Is this normal practice?

Public Comments

1. Yes, it is normal for a realtor to send you list of houses that fit your criteria. It doesn't matter if he is actually the realtor or not. He will get his part of the comission once the house sales and all the paperwork is complete. He will be listed as the buyer's (which would be you) agent and the seller's agent of course will also get part of the commission. It would be split. And no, you should not have to put any money down until you are at the end and signing the closing contract. The only money you would have to put into before you can start with the initial paperwork is escrow. This is money to put down that you are seriously interested in a home, but only when you are actually interested in a home and you have bid on the house and the seller has accept your offer. Do Not give any money right now because you haven't even decided on this home yet. And you should not have to put money down just because you want to check out a house. That should be free of charge. Something sounds screwy there. Now if you are truly interested in the house, then put in a bid on it and if the seller accepts, give the escrow money and then the down payment. Good luck.
2. You really should have someone representing your best interests. Pisst! Buyers work with Realtors for FREE! Yes, I am not lying. You get all the expertise you need to make an offer, FREE ADVISE, FREE Guidance, FREE experience, the list goes on and on. Once you have a Realtor you are comfortable with, ask them to write your offer up and present the earnest money check with offer. If the offer is accepted, the earnest money check is given to the Listing Broker and is put into an escrow account and held until closing. That's it, it's that easy! And for you Mr. Buyer -- ITS FREE SERVICE!
3. if you want to look at a house, go look, you don't have to pay to look, if you are interested in the home after you look, then you can talk about earnest money,.....and that money would probably be best paid by check,.....only deal with a licensed real estate person,.....
4. The person sending you info about homes that are not his listings is a Buyer's Agent. There are usually two agents in a RE transaction--one representing the seller and one representing the buyer. You actually want your own agent when you buy or sell because you want someone to represent you alone---not be torn between the interests of both parties. When you give a deposit on a home you want to give it as a cashier's check, NEVER give anyone large amounts of cash. Even if they give you a receipt, there is no reason to do it when cashier's check is just as good and safer. If you don't want to get yourself an agent to help you with the purchase, at least go to the library or Amazon.com and get yourself a book describing the home buying process.
5. Check with that state. In Florida you do not have to put down a binder/escrow. It is customary that you do to show good faith in the purchase. When you do an agent can not tell you the amount to place down. It should be an amount that if you lost it it would matter to you. Again good faith in the purchase. The contract in Florida will state that if you do not qualify for the loan or if the property can not qualify for the loan you will get that money back. You might not get it back if you qualify for the loan then say I don’t want the house I want the one down the road. The reason is the seller took this home off the market to hold for you as you got all the ducks in a row… They may have lost a true buyer when you took the home off the market. When you go to buy the home your escrow becomes a part of down payment. So your not just paying to take a look at a home. You get the money back in a way… it helps with your purchase. Again check with your state… or rather the state the home is in.