The Option Period on a San Antonio Home Sale: What Sellers Should Expect in the First 10 Days Under Contract

Once a San Antonio buyer signs the TREC 1-4 (20-17) resale contract and delivers the option fee, you have given them a paid, unrestricted right to walk away. That window — the option period — is the single most dangerous stretch of a Texas home sale for the seller. Most of the damage happens because sellers misread what they can and cannot do during those 5 to 10 days.

Here is what the option period actually is, what happens inside it, and the specific places San Antonio sellers give up money and leverage without realizing it.

What the option period actually is

Paragraph 23 of the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), form 20-17, gives the buyer the right to terminate the contract for any reason or no reason during a negotiated number of days, in exchange for a non-refundable option fee paid to the seller. Earnest money is separate and is held at the title company.

Two things sellers routinely misunderstand:

• Termination requires only notice, not justification. The buyer does not have to prove the inspection was bad, the appraisal was low, or that they lost their job. They send a termination notice (TREC form 38-8) by the deadline and the deal is dead. Earnest money is returned to the buyer. You keep the option fee.
• The option fee goes to the seller, not the title company's pocket. Under current TREC form language, the option fee is delivered through the title company and credited or disbursed per the contract. On a typical San Antonio deal, a $300–$500 option fee for a 7-day period is standard; on a tight-inventory listing you can push for more days paid at a higher rate, or fewer days at a nominal rate — it is negotiable in both directions.

The clock starts the day after the effective date

The effective date is the date the last party signs and the contract is receipted — not the date you accepted verbally. Day 1 of the option period is the day after the effective date. If the effective date is a Monday and you agreed to a 7-day option, the buyer has until 5:00 p.m. Central on the following Monday to terminate.

Miss this by a day in your calendar and you will either think the deal is dead when it is not, or you will stop showing the house during a window where the buyer still has a free out.

What the buyer is doing during those days

A competent buyer's agent in Bexar County runs a tight schedule:

• Days 1–3: Order the general inspection. In San Antonio this usually runs $400–$650 for a sub-3,000 sq ft home, more for pool, septic, or acreage out toward Helotes or Boerne.
• Days 2–5: Add-on inspections if flagged — foundation (common on anything south or west with CLE-area clay soils), WDI/termite report (required for VA loans), sewer scope on 1950s–70s San Antonio pier-and-beam housing stock inside Loop 410, HVAC on anything over 12 years old.
• Days 4–7: Inspection report delivered. Buyer's agent drafts repair amendment on TREC form 39-9 or a termination notice on 38-8.
• In parallel: Lender orders the appraisal (though appraisals often come back after option period ends — this is why appraisal contingency is separate under Paragraph 2 of the Third Party Financing Addendum, TREC 40-11).

You should expect inspector access requests within 72 hours of the effective date. If the buyer has not scheduled an inspection by day 4 of a 7-day option, something is off — they are either not serious or they are shopping other houses while holding yours.

What you can and cannot do as the seller

You can keep showing the house

Unless your listing agreement or the contract says otherwise, you are permitted to continue showings and accept backup offers (TREC 11-7, Addendum for Back-Up Contract). On any San Antonio listing priced competitively — and especially in Cibolo, Schertz, or inside 1604 north — pulling the sign down on day 1 is a mistake. Keep the MLS status at "Option Pending" or "Active Option Contract," not "Pending."

You cannot refuse reasonable inspector access

The buyer paid for the right to inspect. Blocking access, demanding you be present, or restricting which inspectors they use is a fast way to get a termination notice and a complaint.

You should not negotiate repairs verbally

Any repair agreement must be in writing on TREC 39-9 (Amendment) and signed by both parties before the option deadline. A text message saying "yeah I'll replace the water heater" is not a binding modification and will not survive if the deal goes sideways.

The three ways the option period ends

1. Buyer terminates. You keep the option fee, earnest money goes back, listing goes active again. On the MLS, re-list promptly and note the terminated contract was within option.
2. Buyer and seller sign an amendment. Price change, repair credit, or seller repairs — all documented on 39-9. Deal continues to close.
3. Option period expires with no action. Earnest money becomes at risk for the buyer. From this point forward, the buyer can still terminate under financing or appraisal contingencies, but they lose the earnest money if they walk for any other reason.

What most sellers get wrong

• Treating option pending as sold. You are not sold until the option period ends and the financing contingency is satisfied. Keep the backup pipeline warm. Tell your agent to keep returning showing requests with "accepting backups."
• Agreeing to repairs mid-option without an amendment. If the buyer terminates after your handshake agreement, you have spent money on repairs for a dead deal. Only commit on paper, and only in exchange for the buyer waiving their remaining option days or increasing earnest money.
• Panicking at a long inspection report. Every San Antonio home over 15 years old will have 40+ items flagged — grading, GFCI outlets, caulking, attic insulation depth, minor foundation deflection. The report length is not the signal. The negotiated repair ask is.
• Negotiating against yourself before the amendment arrives. Do not offer concessions proactively because "the buyer sounded unhappy." Wait for the written amendment. Half the time the ask is smaller than you feared.
• Short option on a complex property. If you are selling a 1960s home in Monte Vista (78212) or Alta Vista with original cast iron drain lines, a 3-day option is not enough time for a sewer scope and a foundation engineer's letter. Buyers who did not get full inspections will come back later via financing or appraisal contingency with worse leverage for you.
• Confusing option fee with earnest money. Option fee is yours regardless. Earnest money only becomes yours if the buyer defaults after the option period ends. These are two different checks going to two different places.

The move after a termination notice

If the buyer terminates, do three things within 24 hours: (1) sign the Release of Earnest Money (TREC 51-0) so the title company can disburse — stalling this does not help you; (2) ask your agent for the inspection report if the buyer is willing to share, because you now know what the next buyer will find; (3) decide whether to address the top one or two items before relisting, or to adjust price and disclose. Under Texas Property Code § 5.008, once you know about a material defect, your Seller's Disclosure Notice (TREC OP-H) must reflect it on the next contract.

Selling in Bexar County in 2026 means more negotiating leverage sits with the buyer during the option period than it did two years ago, with roughly five to six months of resale inventory sitting on the MLS across the metro. The sellers who close cleanly are the ones who treat the option period as a 7-day due diligence sprint — kept backups active, repairs only on paper, calendar locked to the hour.

If you are preparing to list, you can compare current rental and for-sale inventory on RentInSA at /resources, list your home for sale or FSBO at /list-your-home, or connect with a San Antonio agent who negotiates option-period amendments every week at /agents.