Earnest money is a deposit, or money that is held by the real estate agency with the submission of an offer to purchase in a real estate transaction. Earnest money is used to demonstrate the seriousness of the purchaser, as good faith, when buying a property.
A South Carolina real estate agency is required to deposit an earnest money check within 48 hours of acceptance of an offer. Earnest money is held in a 3rd party account and should never be commingled with operating expenses for the company. Real estate agencies take this VERY seriously and your money is well documented to protect both the buyer and seller. When a payment is made with cash it will be deposited immediately into the real estate brokers escrow account. If your offer is accepted, the earnest money will be debited from the purchase price and/or will be credited back to you at the closing.
Typically, a purchaser will put down between 1 and 5 percent of the total purchase price. If a “meeting of the minds” is never met, the earnest money should be returned back to the payor. Otherwise, it is used to secure the contract and is held until the closing, release or default. You can always ask your agent to produce a ‘pocket card’ to prove that he/she is licensed with the SCLLR prior to writing a check (or handing them cash) when buying real estate in South Carolina.