PATRICK’S QUICK ANSWER
A good offer is built on structure, not just price. Avoid the costly mistakes I see buyers make: waiving the inspection, skipping the option period, and using a weak pre-approval. Because I am both your lender and your representation, I shape offers that get accepted while keeping your contingencies and your earnest money protected. Negotiate terms and concessions together.
A good offer is about structure, not just price. Because I am both your financing and your representation on the same table, I can shape offers that get accepted while still protecting you. Here is how to negotiate without making the costly mistakes I see buyers make.
This is chapter five of my free Essential First-Time Homebuyer Roadmap.
Get Pre-Approved Before You Negotiate
A pre-approval letter is the single strongest card in your hand. Sellers and their agents take serious buyers seriously, and in a multiple offer situation a clean, well-documented pre-approval can win the day even when your offer is not the highest price.
Make sure you understand the difference between pre-approval and pre-qualification before you rely on it.
Understand Earnest Money and the Option Period in Texas
In Texas, your earnest money shows good faith, and the option period lets you do inspections and back out for any reason before the deadline. How you structure option money and the inspection timeline is a negotiation in itself. Protecting your option period is one of the smartest things you can do, because it is what makes an inspection meaningful.
Use Seller Concessions to Lower Your Cash to Close
In Texas, seller concessions can pay some of your closing costs or buy down your rate, which directly lowers your cash to close. This is a real negotiating lever for buyers who want to keep more money in their pocket. I model concession scenarios for buyers because they matter as much as the price.
Negotiate Repairs With the Inspection in Hand
After your inspection you may request repairs or a credit. The goal is to address safety and structural issues, not to nickel-and-dime the seller over cosmetics. Pairing a well-founded repair request with a fair approach keeps the deal moving. If an issue arises, knowing when to ask for a credit versus a repair can keep everyone at the table.
Nerd Alert
The actual numbers and math behind this topic, the way I run them on the channel.
Seller concessions are the big lever here because they reduce cash at the table, not just the monthly. The federal program caps matter: on a $295,000 purchase, FHA allows the seller to pay up to 6% of price toward buyer costs, which is $17,700. A conventional buyer with under 10% down is capped at 3%, or $8,850. USDA allows 6% as well, and VA allows your reasonable closing costs plus additional concessions up to 4% of that benefit.
- On FHA, a 6% concession can cover most of the 3.5% down payment plus prepaids, pulling a $15,000 cash to close down toward $2,000.
- A $6,000 concession and a $6,000 price cut are not the same: the concession keeps cash in your pocket, while the price cut saves only about $39 a month.
- None of this works without a real pre-approval, because a seller only pays costs for a buyer who is proven ready to close.
In Texas, seller concessions are how most first-time families make cash to close realistic without draining savings. I check the cap for your exact loan type before the offer is written, so the negotiation shows structure, not just a number, and it is structure 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.
