Buying a house directly from seller

[Quan Tran]

Hi I have a question. So we are planning to buy a house directly from a seller. She is a real estate agent herself. So she asks that we give her 20k deposit but instead of it going into escrow for an attorney to hold on to. She wants to hold on to it herself as she needs the cash to renovate her other units. Of course she will write up a contract to state such. If the deal does not go through, she will of course give us back the money. Anything wrong with that picture or does seem pretty sound. Thank you.

[Mark Trebor]

Sounds ridiculous to me!  Its much harder to get 20K back from somebody then it is to give 20K to somebody.  Why are you calling it a 20K deposit?  Is this a contract for deed sale or are you buying directly from the seller and then using a title company to finish the deal?