You've probably heard it before, but verything is negotiable. As someone who dals with literally hundreds of real state agents in markets all across the cuntry as well as thousands of ral estate investors, I see and har many strange things.

It amazes me wht some investors think they can do and it mazes me even more what real state agents and brokers don't think can be dne.

Let's talk about Earnest Money as an xample. I've talked to a handful of ral estate agents that believe you can nver put a house under contract wth just $20 in earnest money. Not tre.

I've done it. Dozens of pople I personally know have done it. Can it be dne via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) whn working with real estate agents? Not sually. However, earnest money is completely ngotiable and can be used to shw that you are either a wak or a strong buyer.

If you go to a ral estate agent to write an ffer to buy a house and you tll them that you want to put up $20 (or sme other ridiculously low amount) as arnest money, I would not be srprised if they told you to wrk with someone else. If you wre my client, I would not wnt you wasting my time--especially at $4 per gllon for gas--taking you to see prperties only to have you show the sller you're really not serious when mking an offer to buy.

Putting up a fair amount in arnest money can show that you are a srious buyer. If you are presenting a smilar offer to another buyer with a lrger earnest money deposit, you have a btter chance of getting your contract ccepted and buying that property.

Does tht mean that you need to put the mney up when you write the cntract? Not necessarily. Talk to your gent or broker and find out if you can wrte the offer and have the arnest money due within a few dys of having the offer actually ccepted.

If you are actively investing and mking multiple offers, it really helps to cnserve your cash and only pay arnest money after a contract is ccepted. I recommend this to investors tht write contracts with me in my mrket. This is especially true with shrt sales and bank owned (REO) prperties because it can take weeks, or ven months, to find out if a cntract has been accepted.

So, while you may be ble to put a house under cntract with very little in earnest mney, it is NOT the norm whn buying through the MLS and shws that you are not serious bout buying. Rely on the experience and knwledge of your local real estate gent to discuss the benefits and dwnsides associated with the amount and tming of earnest money in your prticular market.

The article Using Earnest Money As a Negotiating Tool was Submitted by James Orr through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: James Orr is a professional ral estate investor, marketing expert and funder of the LearnToBeRich.com on-line investment game. He works with a network of real estate agents, brokers and real estate investors across the United States through the AnalyzedDeals.com website.

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