PATRICK’S QUICK ANSWER
In Texas, the contract decides how much protection you have if something goes wrong, so never skim it. Watch for waived inspection or financing contingencies, vague repair deadlines, and terms that let earnest money disappear. Keep your contingencies intact until you have your inspection and final loan approval in hand. That is how you stay protected.
A purchase contract is a legal document, and the terms inside it decide how much protection you have if something goes wrong. I tell buyers the contract is not something to skim, it is something to understand. Here are the kinds of terms to review carefully before you sign in Texas.
Terms That Remove Your Protection
Some terms quietly erase your ability to inspect, negotiate, or walk away. Look twice before you agree to a contract that shortens your inspection window, limits what you can ask for after the inspection, or makes your earnest money hard to get back.
Your option period is your single best protection in Texas, so a contract that weakens it deserves scrutiny.
Terms With Vague Deadlines
Deadlines control everything: the inspection, the financing commitment, and the closing date. Vague or unrealistic deadlines set you up to miss a window and lose your earnest money or your contingency. Make sure every date is clear and that you can actually meet it.
Ask Before You Sign
Before you sign, work through the contract with your agent so every term makes sense to you:
- Confirm every date and deadline is realistic.
- Understand how and when your earnest money is at risk.
- Keep your inspection and financing contingencies intact.
- Know exactly what happens if the appraisal comes in low.
- Ask what the seller is promising to leave and what they are taking.
Nerd Alert
The actual numbers and math behind this topic, the way I run them on the channel.
Put money on the Texas contract basics. On a $295,000 purchase, earnest money at a typical 1% is $2,950, and the option fee is the smaller number, in Texas conventionally a few hundred dollars, that buys your exit window. During the option period you can walk away with only the fee lost. After it expires, the earnest money is at risk if you cancel without a stated reason, so the calendar terms are the real protection.
- Ask for 7 to 10 days on the option period, not 3. You need time for the inspection, the title work, and for honestly reading the contract.
- Keep the financing and appraisal contingencies in place; removing them to win an offer is how buyers lose earnest money and leverage.
- Any term with no day set cannot be enforced. Every step of the timeline should be written as a date, not a phrase.
In Texas, the contract that hurts is the one with the short window and the protection crossed out. My rule for a San Antonio buyer is simple: you can be aggressive on price, never on the days or the contingencies that protect $2,950 of your money, and that is the deal I protect on your side.
These are estimates for illustration, not quotes. Figures use publicly available rates and program terms at the time of writing, and your actual rate, fees, and payment depend on your credit file, loan program, and closing date.
