Minimum earnest deposit I can legally put up?

[Jay Ben]

Hi BP fam! I have a deal in Pensacola FL and I'd like to wholesale it and possibly put it on the MLS but I don't have much money so I was wondering if I could put up less than 1-3%. TIA

[Tom Gimer]

Earnest money is not required to make a contract legal. That's a widely-held belief that happens to be false. So if you're short on funds and find a seller who accepts $1 or $100 to take their property off the market, good for you.

The reality is every seller should demand a sizable EMD held by a neutral third party and clear terms as to when and how it will be disbursed because that EMD is more than likely the only thing a seller is going to get when a buyer defaults.