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Earnest Money Deposit & Escrow Instructions 
You may not consider an offer serious without an earnest money deposit of at least $1,000 to approximately 1% of your asking price. Having already decided on your title company, the title company or closing officer will instruct you to whom the earnest money check should be made out to. In some cases, the buyer may wish to deliver the earnest money directly to the title company rather than to you. It is not wise to accept a post-dated check. Understand that this deposit (usually in a non-interest bearing account) does not constitute the entire down payment. The contract will spell out in full what happens to earnest money, but in general:

• If something prevents the sale which is outside of the buyer's control (can't get funding, for example), then their earnest money must be returned;
• Typically, you will ask that "upon removal of all contingencies that the earnest money deposit shall become nonrefundable;"
• If the buyer arbitrarily 'decides' to withdraw from the agreement (wasn't ready, doesn't really want to buy, didn't meet agreed upon contract deadlines), then the earnest money may be kept, but you must check with your real estate attorney;
• Likewise, you the seller cannot back out of the agreement once you've accepted it, except in specifically defined circumstances.

Escrow Instructions should comprise parts of your Real Estate Sales Agreement.