My First-Time Home-Buying Mistake -- and the Banking Hack That Saved the Day

Buying my first house was an experience like no other from start to finish. I learned a lot, cried a little, and, in the end, wound up with a great house (and a great, big mortgage). I also made my fair share of mistakes along the way, including one that opened my eyes to a feature I didn't even know my bank offered. This feature has saved the day multiple times now.

You see, I was not only buying my first home, but doing it from 1,200 miles away. This meant I had to take everything I could possibly need with me when I went house hunting.

Naturally, I forgot something vital to the process.

I completely forgot about the earnest money

When a home seller accepts your offer, it's standard to provide them with a good-faith deposit, generally called "earnest money." This is typically at least 1% of the purchase price, and it shows the sellers that you're serious about purchasing the home.

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Provided everything goes well, the earnest money goes toward your closing costs. If, however, you back out of the deal for something not covered by your contract, the seller keeps the money.

Pro tip: Estimate your closing costs as 5% of the top of your housing budget. Whatever number you get from that, add 10% and save at least that much for closing costs. Then, put it in a high-yield savings account to earn 4% APY while you house shop.

Paper check–free since 2018

The earnest money is generally required within a few days of the start of the home-buying contract. It needs to be supplied before other balls can start rolling. Since I'd saved ahead for my closing costs, having the money wasn't a problem, but I had to get it to them somehow.

Folks, if you could have seen my face when my real estate agent casually said, "Just drop off a check."

A check. A paper check? My checkbook. Crap on toast.

While I'm old enough that yes, I did actually have a checkbook, I hadn't used it in many years (we paid rent via Zelle). This is likely why I didn't have the forethought to pack that checkbook, so it was a full nine states away in the back of a cabinet.

My bank printed me checks on the spot

What saved the day was the fact that I bank with Chase, which has branches all over the country. In 20 minutes, I was able to dump my sob story on the unsuspecting teller who, my hero, had a remarkably simple solution: He could print me a sheet of checks.

That's right, friends, many banks these days can just print you some checks, right there on the spot, no muss, no fuss. Cue the explosion sounds as my mind was blown, and I think I just stared at the poor fellow for a solid minute.

Thirty seconds and $3 later, I had my checks ready to go. I quickly filled out my earnest deposit amount and dashed over to the real estate agent's office to drop it off. This secured my offer, setting the stage for what would be the wildest summer of my life thus far.

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