FSBO Contract to Close: What to Expect

The Phase Most FSBO Sellers Aren’t Ready For

You found a buyer, negotiated the offer, and signed the contract. Congratulations — you’re about 40% done.

The contract-to-close period is 30-45 days of overlapping deadlines, coordinated access, and paperwork that needs to go to the right place at the right time. Miss one deadline and you give the buyer leverage you didn’t intend to give. Miss a bigger one and the deal falls apart.

Here’s every step, in order, so nothing catches you off guard.

Critical Deadlines Timeline

Pin this to your wall. Every one of these dates is calculated from the day the contract is executed (Day 0). This is a general guideline — almost no deal follows this flow exactly. These are rough estimates of when we usually see things happen, not hard dates. Your actual timeline depends on what’s in your contract.

• Day 0: Contract executed — both parties signed
• Day 1-3: Earnest money and option fee delivered to title company
• Day 1-10: Option period — buyer can walk for any reason. Option periods are variable and defined in the contract — typically 3-10 days, but can be none or longer.
• Day 1-10: Home inspection, repair negotiations, amendments
• Day 10-20: Title commitment issued. The TREC contract stipulates the title commitment is due within 20 days after the title company receives the contract — which is why getting the contract to title immediately matters.
• Title objection period: Defined in the contract. Buyer must object by the earlier of the closing date or a specified number of days after receiving the commitment.
• Day 14-25: Appraisal ordered, completed, reviewed. Typically ordered after the option period passes — the buyer doesn’t want to pay for an appraisal until they’ve made it through inspections and repair negotiations. But they don’t want to order it too late either, since appraisals can take 2-3 weeks to complete and a late appraisal delays closing.
• Day 21-30: Financing approval deadline — defined in the contract or the Third Party Financing Addendum.
• Day 25-35: Lender issues “clear to close.” Most lenders won’t issue this until the day of or day before closing. Good lenders may issue it 3 days early. Some drag it out until the last possible minute. If you have a good lender, they may even allow you to close sooner than your contract date.
• Day 27-37: Preliminary Closing Disclosure — you should be asking for a preliminary CD about a week before closing, even if title says they don’t have one. They usually have some figures — a payoff, tax information. Press to see it at least 3 days before closing, even if incomplete. You can check commission amounts, HOA lien amounts, payoffs, and catch errors before you’re at the signing table.
• Day 29-39: Final walkthrough. The buyer should be doing this the day of or the day immediately before closing to verify no damage has occurred to the property. As the seller, expect the buyer to request this — it’s standard.
• Day 30-45: Closing and funding. This is the most important thing to understand: the property does not belong to the buyer until it has been closed AND funded. Do not turn over keys until the title company confirms the deal has been fully funded and certified. Even after funding, the money may not be in your account the same day — depending on when title issues the wire, it could arrive same day, next day, or the next business day.

These overlap. On any given day during the middle of the transaction, three or four things are happening simultaneously. That’s what makes this phase difficult to manage without experience.

Phase 1: Intake (Day 0-3)

The first 72 hours set the pace for the entire transaction. Here’s what needs to happen immediately:

Send everything to title. The executed contract, all addenda, the seller’s disclosure, and any amendments. The title company can’t start their work until they have the contract. Don’t wait — send it the day it’s signed.

Confirm earnest money and option fee delivery. In Texas, both earnest money and the option fee are delivered to the title company. The contract specifies when these are due — pay attention to the delivery deadlines and whether they count weekdays, weekends, or holidays. The contract is binding once executed, but failure to deliver the option fee means the buyer doesn’t have an option period. Follow up with title to confirm receipt of both.

If you’re dealing directly with the buyer (no agent on the other side), consider meeting at the title company to sign the contract and have the buyer deliver the earnest money and option fee at the same time. Otherwise you could end up with a signed contract and no deposits.

If that happens — signed contract, no earnest money, no option fee — the contract does address what’s supposed to happen, but this is a situation where time matters and you need to act quickly. Having a competent real estate attorney on speed dial is worth its weight in gold here. Sometimes it’s an honest oversight and the buyer just forgot. Sometimes it’s not. Either way, you don’t want to be Googling “what do I do if the buyer didn’t deliver earnest money” at 10pm on a Tuesday. Know who you’re going to call before you need to call them.

Don’t forget the execution date. Once all parties have signed, make sure the date of execution is filled in on the contract. This date drives every deadline in the transaction.

Calendar every deadline. Open your calendar right now. Enter every deadline from the timeline above using the actual dates from your contract. Set reminders 2 days before each one.

Confirm all utilities are on. Inspectors and appraisers need working electricity, gas, and water. If any utility is off, inspections get delayed, which pushes the option period to the wire or forces an extension request.

The Single Most Important Piece of Advice

The house is not sold until the money is in your bank account and the ink is drying on the closing paperwork. Until those two things are true, that house is still yours.

This sounds obvious. It’s not. The moment sellers sign a contract, something shifts in their head — the house feels sold. They stop mowing the lawn. They cancel pool service. Some even turn off the utilities and stop checking on the property. This is the wrong attitude, and it will cost you.

The grass grows. The HOA sends letters — then fines. The pool turns green and takes hundreds of dollars and days of work to get back to show condition. Vacant houses with no power attract vandals. With no water, pipes can freeze in winter or plumbing issues go undetected. With no gas, the water heater pilot is off and the house smells stale. With no electricity, the security system is dead, the refrigerator defrosts, and the house is dark for the buyer’s walkthrough.

At any point during the 30-45 day contract period, the deal can fall apart. The buyer’s financing gets denied. The appraisal comes in low and nobody can agree on a price. The inspection turns up something the buyer won’t accept. When that happens, the house is yours again — and if you’ve let neglect creep in, you’re spending time and money to get it back to show condition before you can relist.

Keep the lawn mowed. Keep the pool serviced. Keep the utilities on. Keep checking on the property. Treat it like it’s still on the market, because until closing and funding, it is.

Phase 2: Contingencies (Day 3-25)

This is the longest and most complex phase. Three tracks run simultaneously: inspections, title work, and appraisal.

Option Period and Inspections

The buyer will schedule a general home inspection within the first few days. They may also bring in specialists — foundation, roof, termite, pool, sewer scope. You need to provide access and stay out of the house while inspectors work.

After inspections, expect a repair request. Almost every resale home in Houston gets one. The buyer sends an amendment requesting repairs, credits, or both. You negotiate, agree on terms, and send the signed amendment to the title company.

Don’t rush to complete repairs. We usually recommend sellers hold off on making repairs until after the option period is complete, the appraisal has come back satisfactory, and if timing allows, financing has been approved. This is especially true if the repair bill is large or specific to the buyer’s taste — like changing carpet to a color only the buyer wants. If the deal falls through, you’re stuck with pink carpet and no buyer.

For buyer-specific changes, it’s often better to offer a credit toward the repair that comes out of closing costs. The buyer saves the money and makes the change themselves after closing. You don’t take on the risk of making a customization that only works for one buyer.

This is where FSBO sellers are at the biggest disadvantage. You’re negotiating repair requests directly against a professional buyer’s agent who knows exactly which items are worth pushing on and which are noise. A $15,000 repair request might be reasonable at $6,000. Without market context, you won’t know the difference.

Title Work (Runs in Parallel)

While inspections happen, the title company is doing their own work:

• Title commitment — a report showing the property’s ownership history, existing liens, and any encumbrances. Per the TREC contract, the title commitment is due within 20 days after the title company receives the contract. Get the contract to title fast.
• Title objection period — the number of days the buyer has to object to title issues is defined in the contract. The buyer must object by the earlier of the closing date or the specified number of days after receiving the commitment, exception documents, and survey.
• HOA resale certificate — if you have an HOA, the title company orders this. It shows dues, assessments, violations, and reserve balances. Cost is typically $200-400.
• Survey — the buyer may require a new survey or accept your existing one with a T-47 affidavit (a sworn statement that nothing has changed since the last survey). There is now a version of the T-47 that does not require notarization.

Appraisal

The buyer’s lender orders the appraisal. Typically this happens after the option period passes — the buyer doesn’t want to pay for an appraisal until they’ve made it through inspections and repair negotiations. But they also don’t want to order it too late, since appraisals can take 2-3 weeks to complete and a late order delays closing.

Give the appraiser access to the property and stay out of their way. Don’t try to influence them. If you’ve made improvements — replaced the roof, did major plumbing work, upgraded the kitchen — make copies of the receipts showing dates and costs. Put them in a packet and hand it to the appraiser when they arrive. A brief explanation (“I replaced the roof in 2024, redid the master bath in 2023, here are the receipts”) is enough. They don’t know about your improvements unless you tell them.

If the appraisal comes in low — below the contract price — you have three options: the buyer makes up the difference in cash, you reduce the price, or you meet somewhere in the middle. This is a negotiation, and it’s one of the most stressful moments in a FSBO transaction.

Cascading Disclosures

Your initial seller’s disclosure may trigger additional required disclosures. If the property is in a floodplain, has known foundation issues, or has had previous insurance claims, there are supplemental forms that must be provided. Missing a required disclosure can create problems that don’t go away after closing — it’s one of the areas where a real estate attorney’s review is worth the cost.

In real estate, we’re concerned with the three D’s: disclose, disclose, and disclose. If you’re wondering whether you should tell a buyer about something — even if it’s not covered on the seller’s disclosure — ask yourself this: would it upset you if you didn’t know about it before you bought the house? If the answer is yes, disclose it. It’s better to be upfront and honest than to shade the truth or outright lie and spend the next few years worrying about whether it’ll come back and bite you.

Phase 3: Home Stretch (Day 25 to Closing)

The contingencies are behind you. Now it’s about confirming everything lands on time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at this point, that’s normal — but this is why it’s important to decide before you enter into a contract whether you’re comfortable managing the process yourself. If you’re not, seek professional assistance before listing, not mid-transaction. Some mistakes in real estate are tough or impossible to undo — it’s much easier to just not make them in the first place.

Confirm financing approval. The financing approval deadline is defined in the contract or the Third Party Financing Addendum. If the deadline passes without approval, the buyer can terminate and get their earnest money back. Confirm with the buyer’s agent (or buyer directly) that approval is on track before this deadline.

Send repair receipts to title. If you agreed to make repairs, send receipts and documentation to the title company. The buyer will want to verify the work was completed before closing.

Review the Preliminary Closing Disclosure line by line. Start asking for a preliminary CD about a week before closing — even if title says they don’t have one yet. They usually have some figures in the system: a payoff, tax information. Press to see it at least 3 days before closing, even if incomplete. This document shows every dollar in the transaction. Check:

• Sale price matches the contract (including any amendments)
• Earnest money credit applied correctly
• Option fee credit applied correctly
• Repair credits match the amendment
• Commission amounts are correct
• Prorated property taxes calculated accurately
• HOA dues prorated correctly
• Title insurance premium is accurate
• Your net proceeds match your expectations

Errors on the closing disclosure are common. Catch them now, not at the closing table.

Phase 4: Closing Day

Final Walkthrough

The buyer should be doing the final walkthrough on the day of or the day immediately before closing. They’re checking that no damage has occurred to the property, agreed-upon repairs were completed, and you haven’t removed anything that was supposed to convey (like the refrigerator or curtain rods). As the seller, expect the buyer to request this — it’s standard and you should accommodate it.

Before You Leave the House

• Leave all keys, garage remotes, gate codes, and mailbox keys
• Leave appliance manuals and warranty documents
• Provide usernames and passwords for all smart devices — Ring doorbells, Nest/Ecobee thermostats, wireless security cameras, smart locks, garage door openers with WiFi, irrigation controllers, and any other connected devices. This is required under the Texas contract. Reset accounts or transfer them to the buyer.
• Turn off the sprinkler system (or leave the schedule)
• Set the thermostat to a reasonable temperature

Utilities and Insurance — Timing Matters

Utilities: Call a few days to a week before closing and schedule shut-off for the day after closing — not the day of. We always recommend the day after because if the buyer wants to do a morning walkthrough and closing isn’t until the evening, the electric company will shut the power off at 12:01 AM on the day you asked. The buyer shows up to verify repairs were made and there’s no power. It’s technically their fault for not scheduling service to start — but it’s your fault for shutting it off too early. Give them an extra day. Let them get their walkthrough done and everyone stays happy.

Homeowner’s insurance: Don’t cancel before closing — deals fall through. Call a few days after closing and tell your insurance company you need to cancel the policy. They’ll backdate the cancellation to the closing date and include those extra days in your refund. No risk, no gap in coverage if something goes wrong at the last minute.

Lawn service, alarm monitoring, cable/internet: Cancel or transfer these around closing. Alarm monitoring is worth noting — if the alarm system wasn’t excluded in the contract, it stays with the property.

At the Closing Table

• Bring government-issued photo ID
• Bring all keys and remotes — but do not hand them over until the title company confirms the deal is fully funded and certified
• Sign the paperwork — the title company walks you through each document
• Verify wire instructions directly with the title company by phone. Wire fraud is real. Do not trust wire instructions sent by email without verbal confirmation.
• Understand funded vs closed: The property does not belong to the buyer until it has been closed AND funded. These are two separate things. Closing is signing. Funding is the money moving. Do not release keys until title confirms funding. Even after funding confirmation, your wire may arrive same day, next day, or the next business day depending on when title issues it.

After Closing

• Save all closing documents for tax purposes — you’ll need them when you file
• Confirm your mortgage escrow refund arrives within 30 days
• File a change of address with USPS, your bank, insurance, and the DMV
• Notify the county appraisal district of the sale (this usually happens automatically through deed recording, but verify)

The Honest Take

The contract-to-close period is manageable if you’re organized, responsive, and willing to learn the process. But it’s also where the cost of mistakes gets expensive. A missed deadline can give the buyer a free exit. A botched repair negotiation can cost you $5,000-10,000. A closing disclosure error you don’t catch comes straight out of your net proceeds.

If you’ve made it this far selling FSBO, you’ve done the hard part. Don’t let the paperwork phase undo the work you’ve already put in.

Related Guides

• How to Sell Your House Without a Realtor in Houston
• How to Price Your Home for Sale by Owner
• How to Market Your FSBO Home in Houston
• How to Show Your Home as a FSBO Seller
• How to Handle Offers When Selling FSBO
• FSBO vs Realtor: Is Selling Without an Agent Worth It?
• How to List on MLS Without a Realtor
• Option Period in Texas Real Estate
• Earnest Money vs Option Fee in Texas
• Third Party Financing Addendum in Texas
• Discount Realtor Houston: Full-Service Listing for 1%
• How Much Does It Cost to Sell a House in Houston?