Earnest Money : A deposit made by a purchaser of real estate to evidence good faith.

Earnest money is an amount of money offered with the purchase agreement to show the sellers that you are serious about purchasing their home. A homeowner will want to know this before agreeing to take their home off the market. Typically, in Albuquerque, earnest money can range from $1,000-$1,500 for less than $250,000 and $3,000-$5,000 for up to $500,000. This is always negotiable, but needs to be reasonable for the seller. Earnest money is generally held in escrow with a title company in Albuquerque and is credited to the buyer at closing.