Accepting earnest money from the Old Property...

Am I allowed to take an earnest money check when selling my Old Property?

The rule of thumb is that you can't touch the money from the sale of your Old Property; however, you have until the closing of your Old Property to decide whether or not you want to go ahead with an exchange.

So the answer (contrary to what many think) is yes. You can take a check in your name, cash or whatever form you wish. Just make sure that you bring all the earnest money to closing and hand it over to the intermediary for the future purchase of your New Property. Any earnest money not brought to closing will be taxable.

--The Experts