Earnest money deposits - whats the norm these days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here - just read your 14:29 post OP. Go with what your agent suggests, if you can get away with less, esp if you're in an uncompetitive area, definitely do so.

but it really speaks to your commitment in buying. If it is low then yes, offer a low earnest money deposit. If you are a strong buyer then I'd make it higher. We just got an offer on our beach house (a very quiet market) and the earnest money deposit was only $1000 which really doesn't make us that confident in the terms of the offer. So watch out giving the seller the wrong message.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:59, why would a high deposit put sellers off??

Some sellers of course are happy to see it!
But my realty team told me they consider it bad form when a bidder "out-blings" their competitors by dumping a huge amount of cash up front.
It is a highly superficial gesture, since it is anyway much smaller than the downpayment, which matters more as a proof of the buyer's ability to pay.
So for many sellers, relatively massive earnest money raises red flags: they fear haggling over details down the road, or a tiny downpayment leading to failure to finance, etc...