If you’ve never been through the home-buying process, some of the terminology can seem a bit foreign. One of the many phrases you might come across is earnest money (aka 'good faith' deposit). When making an offer on a home, it is required to include earnest money with that offer. Earnest money is a payment of approximately 1% of the purchase price that is intended to show the seller you are very interested and intend to close on their property. The amount isn’t set in stone