What is the Texas option period, and how do I use it without wasting it?
What this post answers: What is the Texas option period, and how do I use it without wasting it?
In Texas, the option period is a short window you negotiate into your contract, right after you go under contract on a home. During that window, you can have the home inspected, review the seller's disclosure, and decide whether to move forward.
Three things to get right:
- It is negotiated, not standard. The number of days and the option fee are agreed in the contract. A shorter window or a lower fee is not automatically better — it changes what you can realistically inspect and decide in time.
- Use the days, don't just hold them. Schedule the general inspection early in the window, so there is time for follow-up inspections or repair quotes if something comes up. An inspection report on the last day, with no time to act on it, helps no one.
- Know what happens at the end. If you do not terminate within the option period under its terms, you generally move forward under the rest of the contract. If you do terminate properly within it, the option is what protects that decision. Read the exact contract language with your agent before you sign — summaries, including this one, are not a substitute for the contract itself.
Seller disclosure matters alongside the option period. In Texas, sellers provide a disclosure about known conditions, including flood history where applicable. Read it before the option clock runs out, and ask questions while you still have time to act on the answers.
Contact: Justin Duffield, J. David Properties, Keller Williams Realty Southwest — (832) 771-8700, justin@jdavidproperties.com.
Educational information only, not legal advice.