Ed Neuhaus 
You Said Yes. Here Comes the Hard Part.
I had a client call me about ten minutes after we accepted an offer on her home. She was thrilled, obviously, but then she said something that I hear constantly: “Ok so we’re done now, right? I just wait for the check?”
Not quite. Accepting an offer is actually the beginning of a 30-to-45-day process that has a lot of moving pieces. Most of those pieces move without you, but some of them absolutely require your attention, and a few of them can derail the whole thing if you’re not paying attention. The selling process in Texas is well-designed when everyone knows their role. The sellers who get blindsided are usually the ones nobody bothered to walk through it.
So lets walk through it. Day by day, from signed contract to closing table, here is exactly what’s happening and what you need to do about it.
The Big Picture: 30 to 45 Days
Most Texas home sales close between 30 and 45 days after the contract is fully executed. Conventional financing typically lands at the shorter end. VA and FHA loans tend to run 45 to 60 days because of the additional underwriting requirements. Cash deals can close in as little as two weeks if everyone is motivated. The date in your contract is a target, and your lender’s timeline is what usually controls it.
Here’s a rough map of how those days break down:
- Days 1-7: Option period (inspections, negotiations)
- Days 8-14: Financing and title work begin in earnest
- Days 15-25: Appraisal ordered and completed
- Days 26-40: Clear to close (underwriting finishes)
- Day 40-45: Final walkthrough, closing day
These aren’t precise, they’re approximate. Every transaction has its own rhythm. But knowing the shape of the thing helps a lot when you get a call from your agent at day 17 saying the appraisal is in. You want to already understand what that means.
Days 1-7: The Option Period
The option period is one of the things that makes the Texas contract unique, and it’s the part sellers most often misunderstand.
Here’s the deal: the buyer has paid you a small fee (typically $100 to $300) for the unrestricted right to terminate the contract for any reason within a negotiated number of days. That’s it. They don’t have to explain why. They can walk for any reason, or no reason, and get their earnest money back. The option fee they paid you? That’s yours to keep either way. Yours and yours only.
Most option periods run 5 to 7 days in the Austin market. Some buyers push for 10. Some sellers push back to 3. Whatever was negotiated in your contract is what you’re working with.
What’s Actually Happening During This Period
The buyer is ordering their inspection. A general home inspection usually takes 3 to 4 hours and will produce a report with a long list of findings. This is completely normal. Every house has a long list of findings. The question isn’t whether the inspection finds anything, it’s what the buyer decides to do with it.
They may also order specialty inspections during this window. In Austin and the Hill Country, that typically means a foundation inspection, an HVAC inspection, or a sewer scope. If the home has a pool, well, or septic, expect those to get looked at too. I wrote a whole piece on what Austin buyers find on inspections if you want to understand what they’re looking for.
What You Are Required to Do During the Option Period
Provide access. That’s mostly it. The buyer has the right to inspect the property, and you need to make that possible. You do not have to be home, but the home needs to be accessible at the agreed-upon time.
Keep utilities on. The inspector needs power, water, and gas to do their job. Sellers who turn utilities off before closing create real problems. Don’t do this.
Maintain the home in the same condition it was in when you went under contract. Don’t start removing things, repainting rooms an unusual color, or making changes. The buyer bought what they saw.
The Inspection Report Arrives
At some point during the option period, you will receive an amendment from the buyer requesting repairs, a price reduction, or both. This is where a lot of sellers get emotional, and I understand why. The house you’ve loved and lived in for years comes back with a 47-item list and suddenly feels like a problem.
The reality is that most of those 47 items are informational notes, not action items. Inspectors document everything. It’s their job. What you’re actually negotiating over is usually a much shorter list.
Negotiating Inspection Requests
Here’s something sellers often don’t realize: you are not required to fix anything. Not legally, not contractually. The buyer’s option period exists precisely because the contract is not conditional on repairs. If you don’t agree to anything, the buyer has to choose: accept the home as-is, or terminate and move on.
That said, “agreeing to nothing” is a negotiating position, not a strategy. Knowing what’s worth fighting over matters.
What I Tell Sellers to Take Seriously
Safety items. If the inspector finds a gas leak, faulty electrical panel, or structural issue, those are legitimate concerns and buyers will push hard on them. Refusing to address a genuine safety issue often costs you more in renegotiation than just fixing it.
Roof issues. In Austin’s hail-heavy climate, buyers are understandably nervous about roofs. If your roof has five years left in it, expect a credit or repair request. If it’s newer, document it and let the inspector verify it.
Functional systems. HVAC that’s on its last leg, water heaters near end of life, plumbing that’s actively leaking. These are the things a buyer needs to know will work when they move in. They’re not being unreasonable by asking.
What You Can Push Back On
Cosmetic items. A crack in the drywall, a door that sticks, a dated bathroom. These are “deferred maintenance” items that are visible and priced into the sale already. You don’t need to repaint the garage because the inspector noted it.
Things you already disclosed. If you disclosed the fence needed replacing, and the buyer agreed to buy the house, they don’t get to request a new fence after inspection.
“Recommend monitoring” items. Inspectors write these constantly. They don’t mean “fix this now.” They mean “keep an eye on this.”
Your Four Options on Any Repair Request
- Fix it yourself before closing
- Offer a closing cost credit (buyer handles it after they move in)
- Reduce the price
- Decline and let the buyer decide
Credits are popular because sellers don’t have to manage contractors during the sale process, and buyers can choose their own vendors. Price reductions are cleaner from a documentation standpoint. Either way, both sides usually end up somewhere in the middle.
Days 15-25: The Appraisal
If the buyer is financing the purchase, their lender is going to order an appraisal. The appraiser’s job is to confirm that the home is worth at least what the buyer is borrowing against it. The lender won’t loan more than the home appraises for. That’s the whole game.
As a seller, you will not be at the appraisal. Your agent likely won’t be either, though they can provide the appraiser with a list of recent comparable sales and any improvements you’ve made. That information matters, so make sure your agent does it.
If the Appraisal Comes in at Value
Everything moves forward. You don’t have to do anything. This is the normal case in a well-priced Austin market where comps support the contract price.
If the Appraisal Comes in Low
This is when sellers need to think clearly. A low appraisal doesn’t automatically kill the deal, but it does create a gap between what the buyer can borrow and what you’ve agreed to sell for. Someone has to fill that gap or the deal unravels.
Your options:
- Reduce the price to appraised value. The cleanest path forward. Keeps the deal intact.
- Split the difference. Seller comes down some, buyer brings extra cash to closing. Common in a market where both sides want to close.
- Request a reconsideration of value. If you believe the appraiser missed relevant comparable sales, your agent can formally challenge the appraisal. It sometimes works, usually not, but it’s worth doing when you have good comps.
- Let the deal die. If the gap is too large and you believe the market will support your price, you can decline and relist. But here’s the practical reality: the next buyer is going to hire an appraiser who looks at the same comparable sales. Unless new sales close before you relist, you’ll likely get the same number.
A low appraisal in today’s market is also a signal about your pricing strategy. If you want to understand why this happens and how to prevent it upfront, the Austin seller pricing guide covers it in detail.
Title Work: The Quiet Part Running in the Background
While you’re managing inspections and waiting on the appraisal, the title company has been busy. Their job is to research the ownership history of your property and make sure you actually have the right to sell it. Seems obvious, but you’d be surprised.
What they’re looking for: old liens (unpaid contractors, HOA assessments, utility judgments), estate issues from prior ownership, encroachments on the property line, and anything that would cloud the buyer’s ability to own the property free and clear.
Austin-Specific Issues to Know About
Older Austin homes in areas like Hyde Park, Travis Heights, and Mueller sometimes have title complications from the 1960s and 70s when ownership records were less organized. Mechanics’ liens from prior renovation work that was never properly released are more common than people think. If you’ve had major work done on the home in the last 10 years, your title company may want documentation that the contractor was paid.
HOA delinquencies. If you owe anything to your homeowners association, the title company will find it, and it will need to be paid before or at closing. Don’t wait for this to be a surprise at the table.
If a title issue comes up, your agent and the title company will work through it. Most are resolvable. A few are genuinely complicated. Either way, you want to know early so there’s time to address it.
Days 8-35: Buyer Financing and Underwriting
The buyer’s lender is processing their loan file in parallel with everything else. Underwriting is doing a deep dive on the buyer’s income, assets, credit, and the property itself. As a seller, you don’t control this process. But you should understand it because it’s the most common reason deals fall apart late.
What can go wrong on the buyer’s side: job loss, voluntary job change, taking out new debt (people buy furniture before they close on houses, which is absurd but happens constantly), credit score drop, or something that was unclear in their original application that underwriting flags.
The buyer’s lender will issue a “Clear to Close” once underwriting is satisfied. This usually happens 3 to 7 days before the scheduled closing date. When your agent tells you the file is CTC, you’re in the home stretch.
What Happens If the Buyer’s Financing Falls Through
Depends on when it happens. If it falls apart during the option period, the buyer walks and you keep the option fee. If it happens after the option period and the buyer has a financing contingency in the contract, they can potentially get their earnest money back. If they don’t have a financing contingency (which is negotiated), you may be entitled to the earnest money.
This is a painful scenario no matter how it shakes out. The good news: it doesn’t happen as often as sellers fear. Lenders do a lot of pre-screening upfront, and most buyers who make it to contract have already been through a meaningful qualification process.
Your Job During This Period
While everyone else is doing their work, you have a few specific obligations that sellers sometimes forget.
Keep the home in good repair. If something breaks between contract and closing, you need to disclose it and address it. A water heater that dies on day 22 is your problem. A tree that falls on the fence is your problem. The buyer bought the home in its contract-day condition.
Keep utilities on. This one bears repeating because I have seen it go wrong. Gas, electric, water, all of it needs to be on through the final walkthrough. Even if you’ve already moved out. Even if you think you’re saving money.
Don’t remove anything that isn’t yours to remove. Fixtures are part of the real property. That chandelier in the dining room, unless you specifically excluded it in writing before the offer was accepted, stays. Same with the refrigerator if it was included. Same with the curtain rods, the pool equipment, the smart home devices hardwired to the wall. When in doubt, ask your agent before you touch anything.
Provide access when requested. Buyer inspections, appraiser visit, any repair contractors who need to verify work was done. Say yes to all of it.
Moving Out: The Timing Question Nobody Plans Well Enough For
You’d think this would be obvious, but the number of closings that get complicated because the seller hasn’t moved out is genuinely remarkable. Here’s the rule: the home needs to be empty and in broom-clean condition by closing. Not “mostly empty.” Not “we’ll grab the last few things after you close.” Empty.
If you need more time, negotiate a leaseback before you accept the offer, not two days before closing. A leaseback (sometimes called a seller’s possession agreement) lets you stay in the home for a defined period after closing, with a daily rate that you pay the new owner. It’s a common and legitimate arrangement when the seller needs to close before their new home is ready.
What you should NOT do: wait until the last week to figure out where everything is going. Moving companies in Austin fill up fast, especially in spring when everyone in the city is moving simultaneously. Book early.
The Final Walkthrough
The buyer will do a final walkthrough 24 to 48 hours before closing. This is not another inspection. They are verifying two things: that the home is in substantially the same condition as when they agreed to buy it, and that any agreed-upon repairs were actually completed.
Make sure the home is empty (or getting there), utilities are on, and all the repairs you agreed to have been done and documented. If a repair was handled by a contractor, have the receipt and work order available. Buyers who walk into a final walkthrough and find something wrong have leverage at the closing table, and last-minute credit negotiations are stressful for everyone.
Closing Day: What Actually Happens
Closing day is usually the easiest day in the whole process, assuming everything before it went smoothly. Here’s what to expect.
You will go to the title company’s office. Bring your government-issued photo ID (required, no exceptions) and your keys, garage door openers, mailbox keys, pool keys, and any security codes or smart home app access you need to transfer. If there are gate codes, written instructions for the appliances, or HOA contact info, bring that too. The buyer will appreciate it and it prevents you from getting calls six months later about how the pool heater works.
You will sign a stack of documents. As a seller, your stack is actually smaller than the buyer’s. Mostly you’re signing the deed, the settlement statement (HUD-1 or ALTA), and various disclosures confirming the transaction terms. Your agent should walk you through the settlement statement before closing day so there are no surprises at the table.
The title company will distribute funds. Your net proceeds from the sale, after paying off any remaining mortgage balance, agent commissions, closing costs, and any credits you agreed to, will be wired to your bank account or issued as a cashier’s check. Most title companies can do a same-day wire if your instructions are submitted in advance.
The Wire Fraud Warning. Read This.
Real estate closings are the number one target for wire fraud in the country. Criminals monitor email threads between buyers, sellers, agents, and title companies. They intercept the communications, create fake email accounts that look almost identical to the real ones, and then send fraudulent wiring instructions at the last minute. People lose their entire sale proceeds this way. It is not a rare event.
How to protect yourself: your title company will give you their wiring instructions early in the process. When you get them, call the title company directly to verify, using a phone number you found yourself (not one included in the email). If you ever receive updated wiring instructions, call before you do anything. Any request to change wiring instructions at the last minute, especially after hours, is a major red flag.
TREC has a formal Wire Fraud Warning form (TXR 2517). Your agent should review it with you. If they haven’t brought it up, ask them about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
We Guide You Through Every Step
If you’re reading this before you’ve accepted an offer, good. That’s exactly the right time to understand how this works. If you’ve already accepted and you’re in the middle of it, I hope this helped make sense of where things stand.
The sellers who have the smoothest closings are almost always the ones who understood the timeline upfront and knew what to expect at each stage. Not because there were fewer problems, but because problems that you’re prepared for are manageable. Problems that blindside you are not.
At Neuhaus Realty Group, walking sellers through this process is exactly what we do. No surprises is the goal every time. If you want to talk through where you are in the process, or if you’re thinking about listing and want to understand what lies ahead, reach out to me directly. Happy to help.
And if you’re still in the earlier stages of deciding whether and how to sell, the top 10 seller mistakes guide and the listing approach breakdown are both worth reading before you go under contract.
