The Option Period Explained for San Antonio Sellers: What Happens After You Accept an Offer

You accepted an offer on your San Antonio home. Congratulations — you are now in the most fragile stretch of the transaction. In Texas, the buyer typically has a paid, unrestricted right to walk away for a set number of days, and that window is when inspections happen, repair demands land, and appraisals get scheduled. Handle it well and you close on time. Handle it poorly and you are back on the market with a stale listing.

The option period is defined in Paragraph 5 of TREC 20-17, the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale). It gives the buyer the unrestricted right to terminate the contract for any reason during the negotiated period, in exchange for a non-refundable option fee paid to the seller. Everything below assumes a standard SABOR-area resale using that form.

What the option period actually is

The option period is a paid termination right. The buyer writes a small fee — commonly $100–$500 in the current Bexar County market, though it is fully negotiable — and in return gets a window (usually 5 to 10 days) to inspect, investigate, and cancel with a full earnest money refund if they choose. If they do not terminate in writing before the deadline expires at 5:00 p.m. on the last day, the option ends and their earnest money is now at risk.

A few things sellers routinely misunderstand:

• The option fee is yours to keep regardless of what happens. It is credited at closing if the sale closes, but you do not refund it on termination.
• The earnest money is separate. It sits with the title company (typically Independence Title, Alamo Title, or Texas National Title in San Antonio deals) and is only released per the contract.
• The option period runs on calendar days, not business days, and it starts the day after the effective date.
• Time is of the essence. If the buyer's termination notice is sent at 5:01 p.m., it is late and the contract stays alive.

The effective date is not the date you signed

Under Paragraph 23 and TRELA, the effective date is the date the last party's acceptance is communicated back to the other party's agent, and it must be filled in on the contract. That date is what starts the option clock, the financing timelines in the Third Party Financing Addendum, and the closing countdown. If your listing agent and the buyer's agent are sloppy about writing in the effective date, every deadline downstream is ambiguous. Confirm it in writing the day the contract is executed.

What the buyer is doing during those days

Assume the buyer will pack the option window with due diligence. In a typical San Antonio deal that means:

• A general home inspection by a TREC-licensed inspector, usually within the first 2–3 days.
• A separate WDI (wood-destroying insect) inspection — termites are active across South Texas and most lenders on VA and FHA loans require it.
• Possibly a foundation engineer's report. Post-tension slab issues in Stone Oak (78258), Alamo Ranch (78253), and expansive-clay areas on the South Side are common enough that buyers routinely bring one in.
• A sewer scope on older homes in Mahncke Park, Beacon Hill, Monte Vista, and other pre-1960 neighborhoods with cast iron laterals.
• HVAC and roof age verification. San Antonio's hail history means insurers care about roof age, and buyers know it.

Expect the repair amendment to hit your inbox on day 5 or 6.

The repair negotiation

Repair requests come to you on TREC form 39-9 (Amendment to Contract), not as a separate demand letter. You have three real options:

1. Agree to the requested repairs or credit.
2. Counter — offer a smaller credit, a shorter repair list, or as-is with a price reduction.
3. Refuse, and let the buyer decide whether to terminate.

A few practical points:

• A closing-cost credit is almost always cleaner than doing repairs yourself. You avoid contractor scheduling, warranty disputes, and re-inspection fees. Lenders cap seller concessions (3% conventional owner-occupied up to 80% LTV, 6% FHA, 4% VA on non-allowables), so check with the buyer's lender before agreeing to a large credit.
• Do not agree to repairs you cannot document. If you agree to "repair active roof leak," the buyer's final walkthrough will judge whether that was done. Get a specific scope in writing.
• Licensed trades only for anything regulated. Electrical, HVAC, and plumbing work should be done by a Texas-licensed contractor with a receipt. Handyman fixes on those systems will get flagged at re-inspection and can blow up the deal.

The appraisal is not part of the option period — but it lands right after

If the buyer is financing, the Third Party Financing Addendum controls appraisal contingencies. The appraisal is usually ordered right after the option period ends, once the buyer has committed real money. In the current Bexar County market, low appraisals are less common than in 2021–2022 but still happen, especially in fast-appreciating pockets like Government Hill, Denver Heights, and parts of the Near East Side where comps lag behind contract prices.

If the home appraises low, the buyer can ask you to reduce, they can bring cash to cover the gap, or they can terminate under the financing addendum and get earnest money back. That termination right is separate from the option and outlives it.

What most sellers get wrong

• Treating the option fee as a real payday. It is not compensation for the disruption of coming off market. If the buyer terminates on day 7 of a 10-day option, you kept $250 and lost two weeks of listing momentum. Price the option period into your decision to accept the offer in the first place.
• Ignoring the contract while inspections run. Sellers assume "we are under contract" means the deal is done. It is not done until the option period expires with no termination notice. Do not stop showings until you and your agent agree the deal is solid — or make it clear you are accepting backup offers on TREC form 11-7 (Addendum for Back-Up Contract).
• Overreacting to the inspection report. Every inspection report reads like the house is falling down. A 40-item report on a 1985 Northwood home is normal. Focus on the safety, structural, and system items. Cosmetic and code-upgrade items (GFCIs in a 1970s house, for instance) are negotiating points, not obligations.
• Refusing all repairs on principle in a buyer's market. If your listing has been sitting and this is your first real offer, holding the line on a $2,000 credit to save face is expensive. Compare the credit to another 30 days of carrying costs — mortgage, CPS Energy, SAWS, insurance, taxes.
• Not verifying the buyer's lender. A buyer with a pre-approval from a lender no one has heard of is a risk. Your agent should call the loan officer during the option period to confirm the file is real, the appraisal is ordered, and underwriting is moving. Radio silence on the lender side is the single best predictor of a deal that dies at day 25.
• Forgetting the SCRA angle. If the buyer is active-duty military at JBSA-Lackland, Randolph, or Fort Sam, a change in orders can affect their ability to close. It is rare but real. Ask early.

After the option ends

Once the option period expires and any repair amendment is signed, the deal tightens up. Earnest money is now genuinely at risk for the buyer. Appraisal, final loan approval, and title work run in parallel over the next 20–30 days. Your job as seller is mostly to stay out of the way, complete agreed repairs on time with receipts, keep the utilities on, and be ready for the final walkthrough 1–3 days before closing at the title company.

If you want to see what comparable San Antonio homes are asking right now — before you accept, counter, or reject — browse active listings on HomeFinder or connect with a local agent at /agents who has worked option-period negotiations in your ZIP code. For sellers preparing to list without a broker, the FSBO flow at /list-your-home walks through the same TREC forms your neighbor's agent would use.