What is a potential consequence for a buyer who withdraws from a real estate deal after submitting earnest money?

In real estate transactions, earnest money serves as a deposit to demonstrate a buyer's serious intent to purchase a property. When a buyer withdraws from a deal after submitting this earnest money, a primary consequence can indeed be the forfeiture of that deposit. This is because the earnest money is intended to compensate the seller for the time and opportunity lost while the property was off the market due to the buyer's offer.

Forfeiting the earnest money reflects the likelihood that the seller has incurred costs or has missed other opportunities as a result of taking the property off the market. Many real estate contracts outline specific conditions under which the earnest money can be forfeited, often tied to the buyer's failure to complete the transaction without a legitimate cause as stipulated in the agreement.

The incorrect options point to scenarios that are generally not applicable during a withdrawal from a real estate deal. For instance, while a buyer typically does not earn interest on earnest money, they also cannot claim additional expenses from the seller solely based on their withdrawal. Lastly, receiving a full refund of the earnest money can happen in specific conditions, such as if the buyer backs out for reasons covered under contingencies in the contract, but this is not the typical outcome when there are no valid grounds for withdrawal.