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Updated almost 6 years ago on . Most recent reply

Earnest Money Deposit with Contingencies
I was listening to one of the Bigger Pockets podcats the other day and the guest said that when they first say they are interesting a house and before they make a earnest money deposit they have the home owner sign a contract saying that the purchase is contingent on them finding funds/loans to purchase the house, home inspection, etc etc and if any of those items fail to happen they get their deposit back.
I have a few questions about that. Is that something you can get a template for online or will I have to go to a lawyer to create me a document for that (looking to invest in Ohio btw). Is that something you give the real estate agent to sign and fax back to you? What if you see the property online and they want the deposit done through their website and they have their own contract they want you to sign?
Most Popular Reply

Originally posted by @Jon Passow:
I was listening to one of the Bigger Pockets podcats the other day and the guest said that when they first say they are interesting a house and before they make a earnest money deposit they have the home owner sign a contract saying that the purchase is contingent on them finding funds/loans to purchase the house, home inspection, etc etc and if any of those items fail to happen they get their deposit back.
I have a few questions about that. Is that something you can get a template for online or will I have to go to a lawyer to create me a document for that (looking to invest in Ohio btw). Is that something you give the real estate agent to sign and fax back to you? What if you see the property online and they want the deposit done through their website and they have their own contract they want you to sign?
In California that's all a standard part of the standard California Association of Realtors purchase contract, you don't have to do anything special or magical, what you describe is just the default values in the contract. I'm guessing it's the same in Ohio. @Eric Veronica is who I would call to drill down on the norms in Ohio.