Home Selling Step 8: Under Contract on Your Home (Option Period, Repairs, Appraisal, and Keeping the Deal Alive)

If you are under contract on your home, this is where most sellers discover what “real negotiation” actually means.

Up to this point, you’ve controlled preparation (Step 3), pricing discipline (Step 5), and traction signals (Step 6). Once you’re under contract, leverage shifts back and forth quickly—and the deal is tested by inspections, repairs, appraisal, and human stress.

This step is not about panic. It’s about understanding what is normal, what is non-negotiable, what is negotiable, and how to keep a good deal from dying late.

Step 8 Comes After Steps 1–7 for a Reason

You can’t manage a contract well if you skipped the earlier work that reduces surprises and protects your net.

By the time you are under contract on your home, you should already know your minimum acceptable outcome (Step 2) and the pricing logic that supports the contract price (Step 5). Now we protect that outcome through the most volatile part of the transaction.

The Core Idea: Negotiation Happens After You Go Under Contract

Sellers often assume negotiation ends when the offer is accepted. In real residential transactions, the opposite is more common:

The offer is the maximum the buyer was willing to offer before they learned more about the home.
Inspections reveal issues (real and imagined).
Appraisal introduces lender risk constraints.
Deadlines create pressure and fatigue.

If you are under contract on your home, your goal is not to “win” every point. Your goal is to keep the contract alive while protecting your net proceeds and avoiding unnecessary concessions.

The Option Period: The Buyer’s Risk Window

In Texas, the option period exists so buyers can learn more about the house—primarily through inspections—and mitigate their risk through asking for repairs, concessions, or price. During the option period, the buyer can generally terminate for any reason or no reason, and the option fee is usually modest.

Practical Seller Guidelines

Do not accept an option period longer than 10 days in most normal situations. Longer periods increase fragility and seller fatigue.
If the option period falls during a major holiday week, you may need to allow an extension simply because inspectors, contractors, and offices are not fully staffed.
Avoid scheduling closings during holiday weeks when possible (Christmas to New Year’s is the classic example). Staffing gaps and “next year” thinking create delays.

Option Extensions: Sometimes a Signal

An extension request can be a sign the buyer is still invested—or a sign they are buying time to leave. A modest extension fee can help clarify which is which. Your REALTOR® should help you evaluate whether an extension is stabilizing the deal or dragging out a failing one.

Inspections: Expect Questions, Anxiety, and “The List”

Inspection reports often create disproportionate anxiety—especially for first-time buyers. Many buyers will ask for a long list of minor items. Your job is to sort requests into categories:

Deal-stoppers (health/safety, major systems, structural, plumbing/sewer, roof, foundation)
Market-normal asks (common repair items or credits that keep the deal moving)
Not grounded in reality (personal taste, landscaping demands, cosmetic preferences framed as “repairs”)

Some buyers will be advised to “ask for the moon.” That does not mean they expect to get it. It means you and your REALTOR® must prioritize the requests, respond strategically, and keep the tone businesslike.

Be aware that some buyers use the option period as a planned second negotiation—treating the inspection as leverage to lower price, not just address defects.

Do Not Negotiate in the Dark

A seller cannot negotiate intelligently if they do not know what the buyer knows. Refusing to review an inspection report does not erase the issue—it only ensures the seller is negotiating in the dark.

Even if you disagree with a report, you need to know what is being claimed so you can:

verify what is real (and what is not),
price the remedy appropriately, and
decide what is worth curing to keep the contract alive.

The Two Buckets of Repairs: Inspection-Negotiable vs. Lender-Required

Here is a clean way to think about repairs once you are under contract on your home:

Inspection-driven items are negotiable. They are part of the buyer’s risk mitigation. You can agree, refuse, credit, or reframe.
Lender- or appraisal-driven items are often non-negotiable if you want the loan to fund. If the lender requires it, it is not really a “negotiation”—it is a condition of closing.

Many “big” inspection items (roof, plumbing leaks, unsafe electrical conditions, structural concerns) are also the kinds of items that can trigger lender conditions once the appraisal and underwriting process sees them. That’s why addressing major defects is less about appeasing one buyer and more about making the home financeable for any buyer.

Major Defects: If You Don’t Cure Them, They Follow the House

Once a major defect is discovered, it tends to follow the transaction. If the current deal fails, the next buyer is likely to find the same issue—or ask about it—and disclosure expectations increase.

If you cannot cure a major defect and you do not have the margin to absorb it, staying on the market may worsen outcomes rather than improve them. Sometimes the least damaging path is to pause, regroup, and revisit selling when the repair and equity picture is stronger.

Concessions vs. Repairs vs. Price: The Cleanest Way to Keep a Deal Alive

Many sellers default to “we’ll fix it” because it feels responsible. Sometimes a credit/concession is the better tool—especially when:

the buyer wants control over contractor choice,
timelines are tight,
repair scope is uncertain, or
the buyer is asking for multiple minor items that can be handled more efficiently with cash.

Repairs are about keeping a deal alive, not increasing value. A $10,000 repair rarely increases price by $10,000—but it may preserve the entire transaction.

Small Tool, Big Leverage: Home Warranties

For older systems (like a 20-year-old HVAC), a basic home warranty can sometimes be a smart, low-cost lever. It is not a guarantee. But compared to replacing a system outright, it can be a modest concession that stabilizes buyer anxiety. In some cases, buyers can upgrade coverage at their own expense (or sellers can upgrade if leverage requires it).

Licensed Contractor Reality (Texas Practicality)

Repairs that require a licensed contractor should be done by a licensed contractor unless both parties agree in writing to another structure. This protects both sides. It also helps keep lenders and title processes comfortable when repair documentation is required.

If the buyer requests a repair that clearly requires licensing (sewer line work, major electrical, structural repairs), your “buddy who can do it cheaper” is usually not the right solution—especially when the buyer’s lender or appraiser may require proof of professional completion.

Structuring Repairs When Timing Is Tight

Repairs generally need one of two outcomes:

Completed before closing with receipts/documentation where appropriate, or
A documented plan where an acceptable contractor is engaged and a process is agreed to for completion. In some cases, the title company may hold funds pending completion, but this depends on lender and title requirements.

Holiday periods and peak seasons can make scheduling difficult. That is why short option periods, good contractor relationships, and realistic closing dates matter.

Appraisal and Lender Conditions: Not Always Optional

Appraisals are about lender risk. Appraisers can call out items that require curing for the loan to proceed—sometimes surprising ones (peeling paint is a classic example).

If a lender requires a repair, the practical reality is simple: you cure it or the loan may not fund. This is not the same category as an inspection wish-list. It is a financing condition.

When the Buyer Asks for Too Much: How to Respond Without Killing the Deal

This is where a strong REALTOR® matters. Your agent’s job is to normalize what is normal, push back on what is not, and keep the negotiation structured so the contract does not die on emotion.

If the buyer asks for a long list of minor items, a concession can sometimes be the cleanest answer. Many buyers feel relief when they receive “something” and can choose how to apply it.

If the buyer asks for major repairs, focus on the big picture:

Does curing the issue still keep you in your “happy zone” after Step 2 net proceeds math?
If you refuse, will you likely have to cure it anyway for the next buyer?
Is walking away over $1,000–$5,000 rational if the next offer is likely to be lower and the defect still exists?

This does not mean you give away the farm. It means you make decisions based on outcomes, not irritation.

What Comes Next

If you are under contract on your home and you navigate the option period, inspection requests, appraisal conditions, and repair strategy intelligently, the deal becomes far more stable.

In Home Selling Step 9, we’ll cover the final runway to closing: title work, insurance and utilities, final walk-throughs, funding timing, and how to avoid preventable last-week surprises.

Doug Berry, REALTOR®, wearing a bow tie and smiling.

About Me — Doug Berry, MBA, REALTOR®

The Bow Tie Agent

I’m a REALTOR® with Better Homes & Gardens Senter, REALTORS® who focuses on helping clients understand the real-world side of homeownership—especially the decisions that affect long-term stability. With an MBA and experience as a lender with USDA Rural Development’s mortgage programs, I approach the process the same way I do with clients: clearly, calmly, and without sales pressure.

If you have questions, want a second set of eyes before you make a move, or want help keeping a contract alive once you’re under contract in Abilene or the Big Country, feel free to reach out:

📧 Doug@senterrealtors.com

📞 325-338-9734

🌐 www.dougberry.realtor

Step 8: Under Contract Is Not “Done” — It’s the Most Fragile Phase