Earnest money

Hi all, I am placing a offer on my first park. The sellers attorney is asking for a 20% earnest money deposit, is this normal in mobile home parks? We are still in the negotiation stage, so I can counter offer, but at what level…

Attorneys are usual a pain since they will nit-pick even smart deals and  verbiage.      As long as you have not signed your name you are in control.       I have seen as little as $10,000 on a $3,000,000 deal–do what your are COMFORTABLE with.

im hoping to be putting one under contract in a week or so. 20% seems huge to me.

In the home study course Frank and Dave talk about having a purchase agreement that ensures you will get your earnest money back without hassle in the event you back out and they resist giving it back. Food for thought if you hadn’t heard that yet.

If they want that much to feel better about your financing, give them a letter from your bank.

Congrats on your deal

We would usually try to do 1% or less for a large deal.  20% seems like a nice number…for a down payment.  What do you need to convince the Seller that it’s worth everyone’s time to bother to do the DD?  I would suggest 2% is plenty, 5% very generous indeed.  Seller’s attorney can ask for whatever they want, but … is this deal to be Seller-financed?  If that is the case, it seems Seller’s attorney is trying to make your earnest money into the down payment, which is due AFTER the DD period, not before.  That’s great for Seller’s assurance but not so great for you (what if you have to fight to get it back?)Brandon@Sandell