In short, earnest money is a “good faith” deposit, that will generally be held by the listing agent’s brokerage until closing. This money is your money and will be used as a credit to you at closing, usually in the form of closing costs or prepaids. Giving earnest money could be the difference in having an accepted contract and an offer that was rejected by the seller. Not giving earnest money could look like you are not serious about purchasing the home to the seller. Earnest money is held until closing or until it is requested back from an unsatisfied contingency in your contract.