How Long Does a Seller Have to Respond to My Offer?

The seller does not have to respond to your offer within a certain time frame in the state of Texas.

You submit an offer, and here’s the ways in which they can respond.

They can say, “Thanks, but no thanks,” which means we turn down your offer. We’re not even going to counter.

They can actually submit a written counter that says, “Hey, maybe we changed the price or certain aspects of this contract.” All you have to do is sign it, agree to it, and then you’re under contract.

They can send back a little one-page, “It would be swell if you reconsidered with these terms. Do that and submit it back to us, and we might consider accepting.”

Sometimes the response is no response.

Since there’s no required time frame, buyers want to know as quickly as possible, while sellers may want to take their time.

And there are reasons they might take their time. Such as, maybe there are multiple sellers and they all have to agree on something. They all have to discuss it, and they all have lives and things going on, so maybe they don’t have the time to sit down and talk about it.

Maybe it’s an estate. And when things are in an estate, there might be multiple heirs, an attorney involved, or something like that. That could delay your response.

It might be that a seller is out of town and they don’t have access to a computer.

And I know buyers are thinking, “But they’re trying to sell their property, aren’t they?”

Yes, they are, but life happens. So we just need to give them a little bit of grace.

There you go.

In the state of Texas, they can accept your offer. They can turn it down. They could say, “Do this and we’ll go under contract.” Or they’ll say, “Hey, here are some nice little suggestions for you to resubmit your offer.”

Or they just might not even respond. It might be silence on the other end.

Anyway, that’s your little tip for the day. Have a good day.