Contract question for properties in Arkansas.

[Joe S.]

Contract question for offer contract in Arkansas. So I do not particularly specialize in properties in Arkansas even though I used to have some properties there. I have one property left that I have on the market. So we get an offer from a buyer.  Also they are asking for a six week closing. They check that they will be putting zero dollars down as earnest money deposit. And the way it looks on the contract if a person is looking to secure government financing they do not have to put down earnest money. They selected conventional. So the best I can tell the only person on the hook to perform on the transaction is me the seller. The offer did not include any pre approval letter from a lender  or anything. Is this sort of thing normal in Arkansas where Realtor’s present offers where these potential buyers no skin in the game and no real commitment to a property? I don’t need the people’s earnest money, but if they are so committed that they will put down zero what is the likelihood of them actually following through?

[Ryan Blackstone]

@Joe S. I can only speak on the contracts that us agents/brokers use. However, I will say earnest money isn't very common here, because most sellers know that the buyer can get that money back very easily. Yes, the contract protects the buyer more than anyone else. Sometimes I feel like there is no justice to the sellers. However, we are in a sellers market. So we get away with getting buyers to:

1. Put down non-refundable deposit 3 days after the contract is signed. Or, we can get the earnest money 3 days after inspection. I don't put a lot of weight in earnest money in the state of Arkansas. 

2. We also get offers where the buyer is allowed to inspect, but will not ask repairs. 

3. The buyer will give us an appraisal gap, which means the buyer will cover the difference in cash if the appraisal comes in low. 

4. We will always get a proof of funds or Pre-qaul. We will not accept any offer without it. 

5. Escalation clauses. The buyer will beat any other offer to a certain dollar amount. 

Hope this helps and good luck. We also wait to make sure every property has 4-5 days on the market. So that we can collect all offers possible.