What is a home sale contingency in Texas, and when will a seller accept one?

• A sale contingency is a condition: I'll buy your home if mine sells and I receive the money by a certain date.
• Texas uses the Addendum for Sale of Other Property by Buyer, an official form from the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC).
• If your home doesn't sell in time, the contract ends on its own and your earnest money is refunded.
• The seller can accept another written offer. They notify you, and you have the window set in the addendum to waive your contingency or walk away.
• To waive it, you give written notice and deposit additional earnest money. From then on, if you can't close because your home didn't sell, you're in default.

The addendum is one page, and every paragraph matters. Here it is in plain English:

• The condition. The contract depends on you receiving the proceeds from the sale of your home, at the address written in, by a date. Notice the wording: receiving the proceeds, not having an offer. Your sale has to close.
• The date. The addendum notes that this date should be no later than the closing date on your purchase.
• If it doesn't happen. If by that date you haven't received the proceeds and haven't waived the condition, the contract terminates automatically and your earnest money comes back to you.
• If the seller gets another offer. If they accept another written offer, they have to tell you two things: that they accepted it, and that they require you to waive your contingency. You have the number of days written in the addendum to do it. If you don't, your contract ends and your earnest money is refunded.
• How you waive it. Only by notifying the seller in writing and depositing the additional earnest money amount stated in the addendum.
• After you waive it. If you've waived and then fail to close only because your sale proceeds didn't come through, you're in default, and the seller can use the remedies in the contract.
• Deadlines. The addendum says time is of the essence: the dates are met exactly.

Here's what that means for you: the contingency protects you if your home doesn't sell, but it doesn't take the new home off the market for you. Go in knowing that.

1. Talk to your lender. They confirm whether you need your sale proceeds to buy. If you don't, you may not need a contingency at all.
2. Get your home ready, or list it. The further along your sale is, the stronger your offer looks.
3. Offer with the addendum. It lists your home's address, the deadline to receive the proceeds, how many days you'll have to waive if the seller gets another offer, and the additional earnest money amount.
4. The option period runs separately. It's the window when you can walk away for any reason in exchange for a non-refundable option fee. The contingency doesn't replace it.
5. Your home sells and closes. Those proceeds satisfy the condition, and your purchase moves on to closing.
6. Or the seller's notice arrives. If they accept another offer, they tell you. Within the window, you either waive and deposit the extra earnest money, or let the house go and get your deposit back.

If you want to see whether a contingency is your best option or another one fits better, answer 5 questions at veronicayeary.com/sell-and-buy.

No seller is required to accept one. What moves the decision is how certain your sale looks. Here's what tends to help:

• Your home already has a buyer under contract. That's the strongest contingent offer, because the seller can see a closing on the way.
• Your home is already listed and ready. Photos done, price thought through, house prepared. That's very different from "I'm going to list soon."
• A letter from your lender saying that, with your sale proceeds, your purchase is ready to go.
• Reasonable dates in the addendum, so the seller isn't left waiting with no end in sight.
• A seller with time. A home that's been listed for a while, or a seller who doesn't yet have their own next home, may look at a contingency more calmly.

I've also written about whether a seller can turn down your offer if you haven't sold yet, if you want the other side of the story.

• Thinking the contingency holds the house for you. It doesn't. The seller can keep accepting offers, and you only get the addendum's window to decide.
• Waiving without a plan to close. Once you waive, if your home doesn't sell and you can't close, you're in default. Before you waive, your lender tells you whether you can close anyway.
• Confusing "I have an offer" with "I received the money." The addendum talks about receiving sale proceeds. Until your sale closes, the condition isn't met.
• Setting a date past your purchase closing. The addendum warns against it. Both dates get set together.
• Offering with a contingency before your home is ready. To a seller, "I'll list soon" isn't a plan. A contingency with no prepared house behind it is the easiest offer to turn down.

Picture a family in McKinney who found the home they wanted, but need the money from their sale to buy it. Their home isn't on the market yet.

Instead of offering right away, they get their home ready and list it that week. Then they offer with the Texas addendum, a lender letter, and dates built to line up with their sale. The seller accepts, because there's a listed home and a plan on paper.

A few weeks later, the seller receives another offer and sends notice. By then the family has a signed contract on their own sale and, with the lender's go-ahead, they waive the condition and deposit the additional earnest money. Both sales close in order.

That's an example, not a real client. In your situation, a different option may fit better.

• Whether you truly need your sale proceeds to buy. Your lender confirms it.
• How ready your home is: prepared, photographed, priced, or already under contract.
• The three blanks in the addendum: the deadline, the days to waive, and the additional earnest money amount.
• Your plan if the seller gets another offer: could you waive and still close? Better to know up front.
• The form itself: TREC 10-6 is published at trec.texas.gov. Read it before you sign.

On contingent purchases Veronica Yeary handles in Dallas-Fort Worth, these dates are written on the same page as the sale dates.

What happens if my home doesn't sell by the addendum date?

If you haven't received your sale proceeds and haven't waived the condition by that date, the contract terminates automatically and your earnest money is refunded. That's what TREC addendum 10-6 says.

Can a seller accept another offer while mine is contingent?

Yes. Under the Texas addendum, if they accept another written offer, they notify you and require you to waive your contingency. You have the days written in the addendum to do it, or your contract ends and your deposit comes back.

How do I waive a sale contingency?

By notifying the seller in writing and depositing the additional earnest money stated in the addendum. Before you do, confirm with your lender that you can close even if your home hasn't sold.

Is a sale contingency the same as the option period?

No. The option period is a window when you can walk away for any reason, for a non-refundable fee. A sale contingency depends only on receiving your sale proceeds. They're two separate protections.

How do I get a seller to accept my contingent offer?

What helps most is having your home already listed or under contract, a lender letter, and reasonable dates. A clear plan on paper takes away the seller's worry about how long they'll wait.

A contingency is one of five ways to sell and buy. Before you offer with one, it's worth seeing whether it's the one that fits you.

Answer 5 questions and see which option fits you: veronicayeary.com/sell-and-buy

Call or text 469-441-8890 · veronica@veronicayeary.com

Veronica Yeary, Realtor®, CRS, ABR, SRS, CIPS · All City Real Estate DFW · Dallas-Fort Worth. This isn't legal or loan advice: your lender and the title company confirm your case.