After many months of searching, you have found your ideal house. You are a little older and a little wiser now, so you want to give the impression that you are serious without appearing to be too eager. What should you do? In the marketplace, "money talks."

There is no absolute rule about how much "good-faith" deposit you should put down--but it is a tool to make your point with the seller. The typical $1,000 will hold many homes for you, except in larger-home markets where it may be critical for you to show that you are an especially serious and able buyer. You don't want to make a deposit that is too large in case there is a problem getting your money back, but if your offer is substantially below the asking price, a larger deposit--$5,000 or $10,000--might influence the seller. If you make a low deposit with your offer, be sure to provide for an increased deposit when the offer is accepted or upon removal of the contingencies.

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Craig Alexander
Weichert Realtors
824 John Marshall Highway
Front Royal, Winchester, Strasburg and Luray, VA. 22630
Cellular: 540-671-6082
Home Office: 540-933-6964
Fax: 540-301-0791
Voice Mail: 540-635-1300 ext. 131
Email: craigalexander@NUMBER1EXPERT.com
Email: craig@mris.com

Born and raised in the Front Royal area, I began practicing real estate in 1990. I offer a wealth of information about the area, including Front Royal, Warren County, Winchester, Frederick County, Flint Hill, Rappahannock County, Strasburg, Shenandoah County and Luray, Page County. A top producer in the region with over 450 closed transactions since 1997, I provide the best service possible to my customers and clients and have been recognized as one of the Top 5% Realtors nationwide for the past 7 years.