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Making an Offer

Making an offer on a Texas home, line by line.

This guide walks buyers through the offer process under Texas practice: how much to offer, how comparables set the number, earnest money, option money, the option period, contingencies, and exactly how an offer becomes a binding contract. Sharcom Realty Group prepares and presents offers for buyers across Houston, Katy, and Dallas-Fort Worth, and we explain every line before you sign.

The Anatomy of an Offer

Six pieces every offer contains.

A Texas offer is more than a price. The number matters, and so does everything wrapped around it: deposit, dates, contingencies, and the wording that turns a proposal into a contract.

How much to offer

Your offer price should come from comparables, not emotion. Recent closed sales in the neighborhood, active competition, days on market, and the home's true condition set the range, and your broker builds the number from all of it.

Comparables

A comparative market analysis lines up similar homes that sold recently, similar homes for sale now, and expired listings that never sold. Pricing above, at, or below the comps is a strategy decision, not a feeling, and we show you the evidence either way.

Earnest money

A good-faith deposit, typically 1% to 3% of the price in Texas, held by the title company while the contract is active. It is credited toward your down payment at closing, or refunded if the contract terminates under its terms.

Option money and period

The buyer typically pays a fee for the option period, commonly 7 to 10 days, to run inspections and decide whether to proceed. During that window you can terminate for any reason and keep the option fee, with earnest money refunded.

Contingencies

Financing, appraisal, title, and inspection protection are wrapped into the Texas contract so you are not committed to a house that will not close. Each contingency has its own deadline, and each one is negotiable in writing.

Binding contract

Under Texas practice, once both parties sign the contract and the paperwork is exchanged, your offer becomes a binding agreement and the contract's dates start running. Counteroffers, expiration dates, and multiple offers all work differently, which is why a broker walks you through the exact document.

Offer to Contract

How an offer becomes a binding contract.

Under Texas practice, the standard residential contract is a one-to-four-family form, and the sequence below is how most accepted offers play out.

1

Build your number from comps

Your broker prepares the comparative market analysis and explains what the evidence says your offer should be.

2

Review the contract before you sign

Price, earnest money, option fee, option period, closing date, and contingencies, all in writing, all understood before submission.

3

Present the offer

Your offer is presented to the seller with the supporting comparables and your pre-approval, so it reads as serious and ready.

4

Wait for accept, reject, or counter

Your offer carries an expiration date. A counteroffer expires your original offer and starts a new negotiation on new terms.

5

Sign, deposit, and start the clock

Both parties sign and the contract date is set. Earnest money is deposited, and every deadline in the contract starts counting.

6

Option period begins

Inspections run early in the option window, findings are negotiated in writing, and you decide to proceed or terminate for any reason.

A signed purchase contract with a gold pen and two brass house keys on a wooden closing table in warm light

The moment it becomes binding.

A Texas residential contract becomes binding when both parties have signed and the signed contract is exchanged, and from that moment every date in the document starts counting in calendar days. That includes earnest money deposit timing, the option period, and the financing deadline, which is why the paperwork, and the broker watching it, matter so much.

  • Every offer carries an expiration date, and sellers can accept, reject, or counter
  • A counteroffer expires the original offer and starts negotiation on new terms
  • In competitive markets, terms such as closing speed and fewer contingencies can win over a higher price

New to the process?

Start with the full first-time buyer's guide, from budget to keys.

Read the buyer's guide

Offer accepted?

The plain-English timeline for earnest money, inspections, and closing.

Offer Accepted, Now What?

Need financing first?

Get pre-approved and run the numbers before you offer.

Apply for a Mortgage
Aerial view of a Texas master-planned community with a central lake and parks, where offers close every month

Talk to Sharon

Ready to make a strong offer? Let's build it together.

Sharon Yeary has prepared and negotiated Texas offers for 27 years, and she knows what sellers in Houston, Katy, and Dallas-Fort Worth actually accept. Share the home you are considering and your target terms, and her team will walk you through the offer strategy, comparables, and the contract line by line.

Sharon Yeary, Associate Broker with eXp Realty, smiling in a coral cardigan

Sharon Yeary

Associate Broker with eXp Realty

  • 27 years of experience in Texas real estate
  • Certified AI Agent through the Krem Institute
  • Associate Broker with eXp Realty, Texas License 471375
Call Sharon (832) 388-9945 Email Sharon Sharonyeary@gmail.com

Build my offer strategy

Tell us about the home you want to buy and your timing, and a Sharcom broker will respond with comps, offer guidance, and next steps.