Any time you enter into a purchase contract to buy a home, some amount of "earnest money" paid by you is to be expected.
Basically, you're putting some cash up to show you are earnest in wanting to buy the home.
That money could be retained by the seller if you attempted to back out of your contract to buy the home. Otherwise, it's simply credited towards your downpayment and closing costs when you finally close on the home.
Some sellers might accept as little as $500, but usually it's about 1-2% of sales price.
Not that it maybe matters in the current market, but sometimes having a larger earnest money amount can make your offer look stronger in a competitive situation.
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