Earnest money, or good faith deposit, is a sum of money you put down to demonstrate your seriousness about buying a home, land, or other real property. In most cases, earnest money acts as a deposit on the property you're looking to buy. You deliver the amount when signing the Agreement of Sale, purchase agreement, or the sales contract. Typically, you pay earnest money to an escrow account or trust under a third-party like a legal firm, real estate broker, or title company. Acceptable payment methods include personal check, certified check, ACH, and wire transfer. The funds remain in the trust or escrow account until closing. That's when they get applied to the buyer's down payment or closing costs. Should the transaction be cancelled, withdrawn, or terminated and pending the transaction circumstances, the escrow holder being a legal firm, real estate broker or title company, will hold the funds in the escrow or trust account until a Notice of Termination and Release of Deposit Agreement are drawn up between the parties dictating and specifying the termination and deposit terms and distribution.

As a legal escrow holder, Sportsman Properties Real Estate is pleased to offer the “Earnnest” digital payment platform to not only our customers and clients but also to the clients of our cooperating brokers that are participating in real estate transactions as well.

“Earnnest” provides an ACH (Automated Clearing House) payment solution that is simply a transfer of funds from one bank or credit union to another. What this means regarding the earnest money process in a real estate transaction is that it completely eliminates the need for the buyer to send a paper check to satisfy the condition of the earnest money. By making the earnest money payment electronically instead of by paper check, the earnest money can be transferred directly from the buyer’s bank or credit union to the escrow holder’s escrow or trust fund bank or credit union account receiving the earnest money. For brokers and agents, this also eliminates the worries of associated costs, inconvenience, contractual time deadlines, and security issues of their clients.

The ACH digital earnest money payment will keep the buyer’s sensitive bank or credit union account information safe, secure, and out of the possession of unknown parties that are typically involved in the standard paper check depositing process. All parties involved in the “Earnnest” ACH transaction knows the exact status of the earnest money payment which is virtually impossible and time-consuming with a paper check deposit. For brokers and agents, this eliminates the worries of associated costs, inconvenience, time deadlines, and security issues of their clients. ACH payments are not wire transfers that are sometimes used in real estate transactions. Electronic earnest money payments are convenient, safe, and secure which make the “Earnnest” ACH transaction the preferred method of payment over the old-fashioned paper check.