No. All buyers can put down earnest money. Typically it’s 1-3% of a purchase price. When approaching closing, the buyer will have to deposit the remaining difference between their down payment and earnest money.

It will soon be a requirement for Oregon, and it is already required in Washington State. It is a best practice. Typically, a buyer’s contract lasts for six months. If at any point you decide to terminate our agreement to work with a different agent, a 30-day period is required, whereas if you buy a home within 30 days, I will still be paid our agreed-upon compensation.

If you decide you no longer wish to buy a property within six months, you can let our agreement expire.

All real estate transactions require “a buyer to do due diligence.” 

So, What is Due Diligence?

Webster says: Due Diligence is Reasonable steps taken by a person in order to satisfy a legal requirement, especially in buying or selling something.

In layman’s terms, this means that when a buyer is considering purchasing a property, the burden is on them to know what they’re getting themselves into. It’s doing reasonable research to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the property before purchasing it. 

Due Diligence can start practically the moment a potential buyer discovers a home exists and ends the moment the transaction is closed.

When an accepted offer on a property is made, there are a few contractual time frames, which in Oregon are called contingencies.

The first is the Seller’s Disclosure Contingency, in which a buyer can review the seller’s disclosure.

The second is called The Property Inspection Contingency, in which a buyer will have longer and deeper access to a property to bring in professionals to consult on its condition and offer professional value and advice.  

Third is Title Search, which determines the legal state of the property.

In each of those, a buyer can decide if they want to make any negotiations or walk away from the deal based upon newfound information. They are called contingencies because a buyer usually can terminate the agreement in these timeframes and still get 100% of their money back.

There are many horror stories of clients not doing sufficient due Diligence:

It’s like buying a property in hopes of turning it into a vacation rental only to find that the local regulations would make it illegal, inconvenient, or cost-prohibitive.  

I tell my clients that I can help facilitate their due Diligence and educate them. Still, at the end of the day, it’s their responsibility.

All real estate transactions require “a buyer to do due diligence.” 

So, What is Due Diligence?

Webster says: Due Diligence is Reasonable steps taken by a person in order to satisfy a legal requirement, especially in buying or selling something.

In layman’s terms, this means that when a buyer is considering purchasing a property, the burden is on them to know what they’re getting themselves into. It’s doing reasonable research to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the property before purchasing it. 

Due Diligence can start practically the moment a potential buyer discovers a home exists and ends the moment the transaction is closed.

When an accepted offer on a property is made, there are a few contractual time frames, which in Oregon are called contingencies.

The first is the Seller’s Disclosure Contingency, in which a buyer can review the seller’s disclosure.

The second is called The Property Inspection Contingency, in which a buyer will have longer and deeper access to a property to bring in professionals to consult on its condition and offer professional value and advice.  

Third is Title Search, which determines the legal state of the property.

In each of those, a buyer can decide if they want to make any negotiations or walk away from the deal based upon newfound information. They are called contingencies because a buyer usually can terminate the agreement in these timeframes and still get 100% of their money back.

There are many horror stories of clients not doing sufficient due Diligence:

It’s like buying a property in hopes of turning it into a vacation rental only to find that the local regulations would make it illegal, inconvenient, or cost-prohibitive.  

I tell my clients that I can help facilitate their due Diligence and educate them. Still, at the end of the day, it’s their responsibility.