In most cases, thatu2019s a tidy profit for the seller.Typically, a sales contract will prthat the seller retains the u201cearnest money depositu201d in the event the buyer fails to close wthout a contractually valid reason.What happens is the seller gets to keep the buyeru2019s deposit as u201dliquidated damagesu201d for the buyeru2019s breach of the sales contract. Then the seller can re-list the home and sell it to someone else.