When a property is listed for sale, the seller will receive many different offers from a host of interested parties. Some of the offers will be from buyers who are genuinely interested in purchasing the property, while others will be from buyers who are just testing the waters or only have a passing interest in the property. One tool that sellers can use to gauge if a buyer is serious is the earnest money deposit, or EMD. Serious buyers often will put down a deposit to place a "hold" on the property; however, if the transaction doesn't close or the buyer gets cold feet, the seller may be entitled to keep the deposit and move on to a different buyer.

On Thursday, May 2nd at 1pm, real estate attorney Lorena Roel of Brewer Offord & Pedersen LLP will present a free webinar about common issues relating to real estate deposits. In this informative webinar, attorney Roel will cover key topics relating to earnest money deposits, such as:

• Purpose of an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) in the real estate transaction process
• Difference between down payment and earnest money deposits
• Determining deposit amounts & consequences of going over 3%
• Mechanics of placing an earnest money deposit on a property
• What happens to the deposit if the contract is cancelled or escrow is not closed
• Deposit consequences if the contract is cancelled from a contingency
• Legal principles governing earnest money deposits
• and much more!