What Happens After You Accept an Offer in Texas

What happens in the first days after a contract is signed?

The clock starts on the effective date of the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract. Within three days the buyer delivers the earnest money and the option fee to the title company, and the option period begins.

• The buyer schedules inspections and any specialist visits.
• The buyer's lender orders the appraisal if the purchase is financed.
• The title company opens the file, searches title and orders your loan payoff.
• You deliver documents the contract calls for, such as the Seller's Disclosure Notice, an existing survey with a T-47 affidavit, and HOA documents.

Keep the house as it was when the buyer saw it. The contract expects the property in the same condition at closing, apart from normal wear, and anything that breaks after signing should be reported to your agent right away. You can still accept a backup offer, which moves into first place only if this contract ends.

Can a buyer cancel after the inspection?

Yes, if the option period has not ended. The option period is an unrestricted right to end the contract for any reason by giving notice before it expires. The buyer gets the earnest money back, and you keep the option fee.

The length of the option period and the size of the fee are negotiated in the offer. A short option period gives you certainty sooner. A longer one gives the buyer more time to bring in roofers, foundation engineers or other specialists, which can be worth allowing for an older home. Once it ends, the buyer can still cancel only for reasons the contract allows, such as financing or appraisal terms in the addenda. If the Seller's Disclosure Notice was delivered after the contract was signed, Texas law gives the buyer seven days after receiving it to terminate.

Do I have to fix everything the inspector finds?

No. The inspection report is the buyer's information, not your to-do list. The buyer sends a request, and you choose to agree, offer a credit or price reduction, or decline.

1. Sort the requests: safety and function first, cosmetic items last.
2. Get a contractor's quote for the big items so you know the real cost.
3. Decide between doing the work and giving a credit. Credits avoid scheduling problems and disputes over workmanship.
4. Answer before the option period ends, since the buyer can still walk away until then.

Repairs required by the buyer's lender are separate, because the loan may not fund without them. If you agree to repairs, keep the receipts and use licensed trades where the law requires them.

What if the house appraises below the sale price?

It depends on the appraisal terms in the contract. The Third Party Financing Addendum can let the buyer end the contract if the lender will not approve the property, which includes a low appraisal. The TREC Addendum Concerning Right to Terminate Due to Lender's Appraisal lets the parties decide in advance: the buyer may waive the right entirely, waive it unless the appraisal falls below a stated amount, or keep a separate right to end the contract within a set number of days.

When the buyer can still walk away, the usual outcomes are a price reduction, the buyer covering the gap in cash, a split, or a challenge to the appraisal with better comparable sales. FHA and VA loans have their own federal rules, and that addendum is not used with them.

To challenge a value, your agent gives the buyer's lender closed sales the appraiser may have missed, with the reasons they compare, and the lender decides whether to ask for a reconsideration. It does not always change the number, so set your plan in advance: how far you would move on price, and which terms you would ask for in return.

Can I negotiate after accepting an offer?

Yes, but only by mutual agreement. Neither side can change the deal alone. Price reductions, repair agreements, credits and new closing dates go on a TREC amendment signed by both of you.

Most renegotiation happens during the option period after the inspection, and again after a low appraisal. Outside those windows, a buyer who wants changes has little leverage unless the contract gives them a way out.

What happens if a buyer backs out?

If the buyer uses a right the contract gives them, during the option period, under the financing addendum or under the appraisal terms, the contract ends and the earnest money usually goes back to the buyer.

If the buyer simply fails to close without such a right, that is a default. The TREC contract lets you either enforce it or end it and receive the earnest money as liquidated damages. The title company releases earnest money under the escrow rules in the contract, usually with a release both parties sign, so a dispute can take time. A real estate attorney can advise you.

When a deal ends, a backup contract can move up immediately. Otherwise the home goes back on the market, and your agent explains the reason to other agents so buyers do not assume the worst.

What happens in the last days before closing?

The last stretch is about finishing what was agreed and confirming the numbers. Once the buyer's loan is approved and the title work is clear, the title company prepares the settlement statement and schedules the signing.

1. Finish any agreed repairs and give the buyer the receipts, as the amendment requires.
2. Review the settlement statement from the title company line by line with your agent.
3. Expect a final walkthrough by the buyer to confirm condition and repairs.
4. Move out, or confirm the temporary lease terms if you are staying on.
5. Leave keys, garage remotes, codes, manuals and warranties for the buyer.
6. Keep your utilities and insurance in place until the sale funds, then cancel them.

Sign with a government ID, and confirm your wiring instructions by phone with the title company. More on the full sale is on selling your home. Call Andy with a contract question.