this one liner will keep the lawyers off your ass when you buy a property i slip it into every contract it says in the event of buyer default sole remedy shall be the earnest money deposit this means you can back out of the deal for any reason you need to and the only thing you owe the seller is this nominal earnest money deposit you put down upfront they can't try to sue you for liquidated damages or even worse court order you to buy the property with a specific performance lawsuit