What is earnest money?

In Old Torrance buyers usually put in a 3% deposit, or earnest money, into escrow. These funds usually get wired and normally it gets put in within 3 days of seller acceptance of an offer. The funds do get deposited, but are usually refundable while the contingencies (inspection, loan and appraisal) are in place. Those timelines are negotiated during the offer/counter offer process.