An earnest payment (sometimes called earnest money or simply earnest) is a deposit towards a purchase made by a buyer to demonstrate that the buyer is serious (earnest) about wanting to complete the purchase. When a buyer makes an offer to buy residential real estate, s/he generally signs a contract and pays $500 to $1000 in earnest money.

If the seller accepts the offer, the earnest money is typically subtracted from the purchase price, or is kept in escrow until closing, when it is applied to the buyer's portion of the remaining costs. If the offer is rejected, the earnest money is usually returned. If the buyer retracts the offer, the earnest is forfeited.

In ancient times, the earnest payment was called an earnest penny, and also known as Arles penny, God's penny, or Argentum Dei. It signified money given to bind a bargain, especially for the purchase or hiring of a servant. Et cepit de praedicto Henrico tres denarios de Argento Dei prae manibus.^[1]This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain. Another related term was luck money, which was an amount given back to the buyer, by the seller, on the completion of a deal, for luck. A financial transaction involves a change in the status of the finances of two or more businesses or individuals. ... Table of Trigonometry, 1728 Cyclopaedia Cyclopaedia, or, A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (folio, 2 vols. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... A four leaf clover is often considered to bestow good luck This article is about fortune. ...

References

1. ^{^} This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain. [1]

Table of Trigonometry, 1728 Cyclopaedia Cyclopaedia, or, A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (folio, 2 vols. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

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