The option period is the most valuable thing a Texas buyer negotiates, and the most commonly wasted. Here is what those days actually give you.
What you are buying
In Texas, the option fee buys you an unrestricted right to terminate the contract for any reason within a set number of days. Not a list of approved reasons - any reason. It is a small, non-refundable payment in exchange for the ability to change your mind.
Two things are negotiated: the length of the period and the size of the fee. Sellers prefer short periods and larger fees; buyers generally want the reverse.
Use the calendar from day one
The clock starts immediately and does not pause for weekends, holidays, or a slow inspector. Buyers who wait three days to schedule an inspection have often spent half their option period before anyone has looked at the house.
Book the inspection before the ink is dry. If the report raises something structural, you want enough time left to get a specialist opinion rather than having to decide on incomplete information.
- Schedule the general inspection the day you go under contract
- Line up specialists early if the home is older or has known issues
- Leave yourself at least two days at the end to negotiate or terminate
Repairs are a negotiation, not an entitlement
An inspection report is not a repair list the seller owes you. It is information. What you do with it - request repairs, request a credit, adjust price, or walk - depends on the market, the strength of your position, and how much the seller has invested in you as a buyer.
A well-timed, narrowly-scoped request is far more likely to be accepted than a fifteen-item list that reads as buyer’s remorse.
We generally advise asking for fewer, larger things. Sellers say yes to a roof; they say no to a page of cosmetic items, and the relationship gets colder in the process.
Terminating properly
If you decide to walk, notice must be delivered in writing within the period. Verbal notice to an agent is not termination. Miss the deadline and your earnest money is at risk, even if your reason was sound.
