Buy smart. Close clean.

From the first call to keys in hand, a typical Houston purchase runs 45 to 75 days — 24 to 48 hours for pre-approval, days to weeks for the right home to appear and the right offer to land, then 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to funded close. Cash buyers can compress the back half significantly.

Yes. Houston listing agents will not seriously consider an offer without a verified lender pre-approval letter attached. Beyond that: the pre-approval clarifies your real budget (not your Zillow-estimate budget), shortens decision time when the right home appears, and signals to the listing agent that you’re a serious buyer the moment we walk through the door.

The option fee buys you the right to terminate the contract during the Texas option period for any reason. It’s paid directly to the seller and is generally non-refundable. Earnest money is a good-faith deposit on the purchase, held by the Houston-area title company. If the deal closes, both can typically be credited toward your funds at closing. If you terminate inside the option period, the option fee stays with the seller and the earnest money is returned.

Whatever the buyer and seller agree to in the TREC contract. In Greater Houston, 7 to 10 days is the most common window. Hot ZIPs and competitive multiple-offer situations sometimes shorten it to 3 to 5 days. As your buyer’s agent, I negotiate option period length as one of the contract terms — not just price.

It depends on the loan type. Conventional loans for Houston buyers with strong credit typically run 5 to 20 percent down. FHA loans for first-time buyers can be as low as 3.5 percent. VA loans for qualified service members can be 0 percent down. USDA loans in eligible rural areas around the Houston metro can also be 0 percent down. The right loan type for you depends on your situation, the home, and the specific Houston ZIP — we figure that out together with the lender.

A licensed Texas home inspector spends 2 to 4 hours walking the home and produces a detailed report with photos. Findings are categorized: deficiency, safety concern, end-of-life systems, etc. We review the report together and decide whether to accept the home as-is, request repairs, request a credit, or terminate and get your earnest money back. Specialty inspections (foundation, HVAC, sewer scope, pool, termite) happen in parallel if the home warrants them.

Yes. The TREC contract has built-in contingencies for financing, appraisal, and the option period. Additional addenda cover sale-of-current-home contingencies, third-party financing, lead-based paint disclosures, and more. Contingencies that protect you also weaken the offer in seller eyes — in competitive Houston situations we sometimes shorten or remove certain contingencies to compete. I walk you through the trade-offs before we write.

Pre-approval letters typically expire after 60 to 90 days. If your Houston search runs longer, the lender refreshes the letter with an updated credit pull and current pay stubs. It’s a quick refresh, not a full reapplication. I track expiration dates on every active buyer file so we don’t get caught short.

Sometimes — carefully. In hot Houston ZIPs with a strong cash position, waiving the appraisal contingency can make an offer significantly more competitive. The risk: if the appraisal comes in below contract price, you cover the gap with cash. I never let a buyer waive the appraisal contingency without a written calculation of what the worst-case gap could be and confirmation that you have the cash to cover it.

Commission terms have shifted recently following industry-wide settlement changes. In current Houston practice, the buyer’s-agent compensation is negotiated between the buyer and their agent in a buyer-representation agreement, and may or may not be offered by the seller in the listing. I walk you through how compensation works on your specific transaction up front, in writing, before we tour.