San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

It is always your offer(the buyers). There may be situations when you have reason to consider offering more or offer more or less.A large down with a cash offer with no contingencies would probably matter more to a seller than similar offers with lots of contingencies and different down payments.Getting the pulse of the buyers actual likelihood to complete the purchase is more important from a seller's or sellers agent's pov .

Thanks, Rustico. How about a small deposit check to open escrow, with a large down payment due at the end of escrow, or even an all cash offer with a small deposit check?

The down payment is typically (always ?) paid at/near the close of escrow anyway. Offering a large down payment at the end of escrow is essentially the same as offering a large down payment.

The deposit check is used as a sign of good faith. The larger it is the more the buyer puts at stake. There is always a risk that the buyer loses some of the deposit if they back out without cause (e.g. one of their contingencies).

The amount of deposit should depend on two things:
1. How much competition for the property
2. How much do you want to signal that you will follow through with the purchase. (strong buyer)

FSD covered it completely. If you are not sure then go ahead and throw down 1% or whatever your realtor advised you to put down.