The Multiple-Offer Playbook for a San Antonio Seller: How to Rank, Counter, and Close

Multiple offers are not a prize. They are a triage problem. The highest number on page one of a TREC 20-17 contract is often not the offer that closes, and choosing wrong can cost you two weeks of market time, a stale DOM stamp, and a weaker re-list. The playbook below is how a disciplined San Antonio seller actually runs a multi-offer situation — not how it looks on a highlight reel.

Before anything else: the day you suspect you will get more than one offer, tell your agent to send the SABOR Multiple Offer Notice to every agent who has shown the property or asked for the disclosures. Set a deadline (typically 5 p.m. the next business day), and ask for highest and best with proof of funds or a lender letter attached. That single move forces the field to put their real cards on the table.

Rank offers by close probability, not by price

On a resale contract (TREC 1-4, currently form 20-17), the numbers that matter for close probability are scattered across four pages plus addenda. Build a one-page grid and score each offer on:

• Net to seller — sales price minus seller-paid closing costs (Paragraph 12), minus any concessions buried in amendments, minus the cost of requested repairs cap.
• Financing type (Paragraph 4 / Third Party Financing Addendum 40-11) — cash, conventional, VA, FHA, USDA, bond/DPA program.
• Earnest money and option fee — size relative to price, and how fast they hit the title company.
• Option period length (Paragraph 23) — shorter is stronger for you.
• Closing date and possession (Paragraph 9) — does it match your move-out, or are they asking for a leaseback?
• Appraisal waiver / gap coverage — written into 40-11 Section 2B(2) or as a special provision.
• Contingencies — sale of buyer's home (Addendum 10-7), HOA resale cert (Addendum 36-10), survey (Paragraph 6C), etc.

Once you have the grid, the ranking usually reshuffles. A $5,000-higher offer with a 10-day option period, 3% closing-cost concession, and a home-sale contingency is worth less than a slightly lower cash offer with a 3-day option and a 21-day close.

The financing hierarchy in a military town

San Antonio has a heavier VA loan mix than the national average because of JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, and JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. That changes how you should read offers.

Financing	Close probability	Seller-paid items	Speed
Cash with POF	Highest	None required	10–14 days
Conventional 20%+ down	High	Normal	25–30 days
Conventional <10% down	Medium-high	Normal	30–35 days
VA	Medium-high if buyer is qualified, longer appraisal	VA non-allowables (Paragraph 12A(1)(b))	30–40 days
FHA	Medium	Repair-sensitive appraisal	30–40 days
TSAHC/SETH/bond DPA	Lower	Program-specific	40–50 days

VA is not a weak offer. VA loans close at roughly the same rate as conventional once the buyer has a full Certificate of Eligibility and the lender is local. What you are paying for is the VA non-allowable fees — typically the lender's escrow fee, tax service fee, and sometimes the buyer's attorney-fee equivalent. Price that in when comparing net.

FHA is more appraisal-sensitive. The appraiser will flag peeling paint, handrail issues, and missing GFCIs on homes built before current code. If your 1978 ranch in Northwood (78209 border) or your 1965 Harlandale bungalow has deferred maintenance, an FHA offer carries real re-inspection risk.

Use the option period and option fee as signal

Paragraph 23 is the tell. An offer with a 7–10 day option period and a $150 option fee on a $400,000 house is a buyer who wants to shop inspectors and renegotiate. An offer with a 3-day option and a $500 option fee is a buyer who did their homework before writing. Ask the buyer's agent for the inspector's name and availability before accepting — a real buyer already has one booked.

The option fee goes to the seller and is credited at close. Size matters less than ratio and speed of delivery to the title company. Texas requires the fee be delivered within 3 days of the effective date; sloppy delivery is your first warning.

The appraisal gap conversation

In a true multiple-offer setup over list, you will get appraisal gap language. The cleanest version is in the Third Party Financing Addendum 40-11 Section 2B(2), where the buyer waives their right to terminate for a low appraisal up to a stated dollar amount. Read it carefully:

• "Waives appraisal contingency entirely" — strongest, but rare outside cash-heavy buyers.
• "Covers up to $X over appraised value" — buyer brings cash to close the gap. This is the standard move.
• "Renegotiates in good faith" — meaningless. Strike it or counter for a specific number.

On a $450,000 Stone Oak (78258) listing with five offers, a $10,000 gap coverage is table stakes. On a $275,000 Converse (78109) starter near Judson ISD, a $5,000 gap is meaningful because the comp set is thinner and appraisers do miss.

Countering: highest and best vs. selective counter

You have two plays:

Highest and best to all

Send the SABOR notice, set a deadline, let the field re-bid. Use this when you have 4+ offers and at least two look strong. The risk: a top buyer with a clean offer may refuse to re-bid on principle and walk. Mitigate by having your agent call the top two agents personally and tell them there are multiple offers, so the re-bid ask doesn't feel like a bluff.

Selective counter to one or two

Use TREC form 39-9 (Amendment) or a seller counter drafted as a new contract. Counter the top offer on terms, not just price — shorter option, larger earnest, waived survey, appraisal gap. Keep the #2 offer warm as a verbal backup. Use this when one offer is clearly ahead and you would rather close that buyer than rattle the cage.

You cannot legally accept two offers simultaneously. You can, however, execute one primary and one backup using TREC Addendum 11-7 (Addendum for Back-Up Contract), which makes the second contract binding only if the first terminates. The backup buyer keeps their earnest money in escrow and their option clock does not start until they move to primary.

What most people get wrong

• Picking the highest price and ignoring concessions. A $415,000 offer with 3% seller-paid closing costs ($12,450) and a $7,000 repair allowance nets less than a $405,000 offer with neither. Always compare net to seller.
• Discounting VA offers reflexively. In San Antonio, refusing VA offers narrows your buyer pool by a meaningful share and does not reliably improve close probability. Price the non-allowables and compare like a grown-up.
• Accepting vague escalation clauses. "Buyer will beat any bona fide offer by $2,000 up to $X." Texas allows them, but they create proof problems and fair-housing risk. Either convert the escalation to a firm number via counter, or reject and ask for highest-and-best.
• Ignoring the lender. The buyer's lender is half the close. A local lender in San Antonio (SWBC, Legacy Mutual, a credit union like RBFCU or Security Service, or a known national branch) closes on time. An out-of-state online-only lender with a 45-day estimated close on a VA loan is a red flag. Your agent should call the lender before you sign.
• Forgetting the seller's disclosure and lead paint. If the property was built before 1978 — and a lot of 78201, 78209, 78210, 78212 inventory is — you owe the Lead-Based Paint Addendum (OP-L) and the Seller's Disclosure Notice (OP-H) under Texas Property Code § 5.008. Missing either gives the buyer a termination right after you thought you were under contract.
• Not executing a backup contract. If your primary buyer terminates in the option period, a signed TREC 11-7 backup moves to primary the same day. No backup means back to market, a DOM reset, and a weaker position.

After you accept

Get the option fee and earnest money receipts from the title company in writing. Confirm the lender has ordered the appraisal by day 7. Keep the backup buyer's agent updated weekly — politely, without specifics. If the primary buyer asks for repairs during option, respond in writing via TREC 39-9 with a firm number and a firm deadline; do not renegotiate verbally.

A multi-offer close is won in the first 72 hours after you accept, not the day you sign. Sellers who treat it as done the minute ink hits paper are the ones who end up back on market.

If you are getting ready to list and want to see what the current absorption looks like in your ZIP, start with the market pages and agent directory at RentInSA — browse /resources for pricing context, or connect with a listing agent at /agents who has run multi-offer situations in your specific submarket.