Gracie - in North Carolina the contract has a "due diligence" clause and during this time the buyer can get their deposit back for "no reason or any reason". The idea behind this change that took place a few years ago was the buyer would also have to pay "due diligence" money that would not be refunded if the sale fell through and applied to the sale if a closing occurred. Problem was the market was so bad there were very few buyers willing to pay due diligence $ and it wasn't really enforced. Don't know if things have changed or not with the market improving. So yes, there are some states where you can get your earnest money deposit returned.
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