Should you accept an offer that depends on the buyer selling their home first?

Sometimes, and only on your terms. In Texas, a contingent offer runs on TREC's Addendum for Sale of Other Property by Buyer (Form 10-6), and that one page decides whether you're protected or parked. Say yes when the buyer's current home is already under contract and past its option period, the addendum gives you a short kick-out window (one to three days is normal in Flower Mound), and the buyer agrees to put up meaningful additional earnest money to waive the contingency. Say no, or counter, when their home isn't listed yet, the kick-out window is long, or the added deposit is token. Your listing stays showable the whole time, so a well-written contingent contract costs you very little. A badly written one can cost you a month.

Here's how I walk Flower Mound sellers through this exact decision.

What a contingent offer actually is in a Texas contract

A "contingent offer" in North Texas almost always means one thing: the buyer needs the money from selling their current home to buy yours. Their agent attaches Form 10-6 to the One to Four Family Residential Contract, and everything about your risk lives in that addendum's five paragraphs.

Paragraph A makes the contract contingent on the buyer's receipt of the proceeds from their sale by a date you both agree to. Not "under contract." Not "closed." Money in hand. If that doesn't happen by the date, the contract terminates automatically and the buyer gets their earnest money back.

Paragraph B is your kick-out clause. While the contract is in effect you keep showing the home and taking back-up offers. If you accept a written back-up offer, you notify the buyer that you require them to waive the contingency. They have a set number of days (a blank you negotiate) to waive it, or the contract terminates and their earnest money is refunded.

Paragraph C says the buyer can only waive by notifying you in writing and depositing an amount you negotiate as additional earnest money. This is the number that separates a serious buyer from a hopeful one.

Paragraph D is the part most sellers never hear about. If the buyer waives the contingency and then can't close because their sale money never showed up, they're in default and you can pursue the remedies in Paragraph 15 of the main contract, which starts with keeping the earnest money. Paragraph E makes every deadline in the addendum strict. Time is of the essence, so a waiver delivered a day late is no waiver.

Two things worth knowing about the paperwork in 2026. The Sale of Other Property addendum itself did not change in the July 1, 2026 TREC forms update, but the Back-Up Contract addendum did (it's now TREC 11-9), and Paragraph 21 of the main contract now lets notices go to the party or the party's agent. That matters on a kick-out, because the clock in Paragraph B starts when your notice is delivered. Your agent should send it the way the contract allows and keep the receipt.

The three questions that decide it

I don't evaluate a contingent offer on price first. Price is only real if the buyer can get to the closing table. So I ask these three questions, in this order, before we talk numbers.

Where is the buyer's home right now?

There are really four answers, and they are not close to equal.

• Under contract, past the option period, financing approved. This is the one to say yes to. Their buyer has already spent the option period and the walk-away right that comes with it. The remaining risk is a low appraisal or a loan hiccup, and both are manageable. Ask for a copy of their contract's option and closing dates and treat their closing date as your Paragraph A date.
• Under contract, still inside the option period. Real, but not settled. In Flower Mound that window usually runs 5 to 10 days, and it is the one stretch where their buyer can leave for any reason. I'll counter here with a shorter kick-out and a higher waiver deposit, and I'll ask for their option end date in writing.
• Listed, not under contract. Now you're underwriting someone else's listing. What's it priced at, how long has it been on the market, and how does it compare to what's selling? Redfin's Flower Mound data for August 2026 shows a median sale price of $639,577 and a median 27 days on market, with homes selling at about 99.1% of list. A buyer whose home is priced right and in a similar market can plausibly go under contract in three to four weeks. One whose home has already sat for 45 days at a stubborn price is telling you how this ends.
• Not listed yet. This is a wish, not an offer. The honest answer is "come back when it's on the market," or a counter that keeps you fully active with a one-day kick-out and a large waiver deposit.

How many days does the kick-out give them?

Paragraph B leaves the number of days blank on purpose. Buyer agents will ask for five or more so their clients have time to scramble a bridge loan or a family gift. As the seller, you want it short. In the Flower Mound and Southlake price range I write one to three days, and I favor the shorter end when the buyer's home isn't under contract yet.

The reason is practical. A back-up buyer who is ready to go will not wait a week for someone else to make up their mind. If your kick-out window is longer than your back-up buyer's patience, the clause exists on paper and nowhere else.

What does the buyer put up to waive?

Paragraph C's additional earnest money is where the decision gets real. Standard earnest money on a $650,000 Flower Mound sale is around 1%, so about $6,500. The waiver deposit should be enough that a buyer would only write it if they truly intend to close without their sale proceeds. I typically ask for another 1% to 2%, so $6,500 to $13,000 on that home, and more when the buyer's home is still unlisted.

Here's the math on why it matters. If a buyer waives with a $500 deposit and then can't close because their house didn't sell, Paragraph D says they're in default, but your practical remedy is $7,000 in total earnest money and a home that's been off the emotional market for weeks. Make the waiver deposit $13,000 and you've changed the conversation. The buyer who waives is now the buyer who has found another way to fund the purchase, which is what you wanted to know all along.

What it costs you to say yes, and how to keep the cost low

The real price of a contingent contract isn't the contract. It's the signal it sends.

Once you accept, your listing moves on the MLS from Active to Active Kick Out, which in our local MLS is defined as a property that "has an offer contingent upon the sale of another property by buyer" but is "still available for showings and backup offers." Agents know exactly what that means. Some will keep showing. Some will skip you, because their buyers don't want to fall in love with a house that already has someone standing on it. Showings typically drop, and the longer you sit in Kick Out, the more your days on market climb without the price momentum to show for it.

So the discipline is to accept a contingent offer only when the addendum lets you run the listing as if you hadn't. That looks like this in practice:

• Keep showing and keep marketing. Paragraph B gives you that right. Use it. Your agent should be working back-up offers, not waiting.
• Set Paragraph A's date tight. It cannot be later than your closing date, and it shouldn't be far from the buyer's own closing on their home. If their sale slips, you want to know in days, not weeks.
• Price the kick-out short and the waiver deposit high. One to three days. One to two percent additional earnest money. Both in writing on the addendum, not in a text between agents.
• Ask for their listing packet. The MLS sheet on their home, the price history, and if they're under contract, the option end date and closing date. A buyer who's serious will send it the same day.
• Get your own next move on paper. If you're selling and buying at the same time, your purchase is probably contingent too. Line up the dates so their Paragraph A date lands before your own deadline on the home you're buying. A contingent buyer behind a contingent seller behind a contingent buyer is a chain, and chains break at the weakest link.

One more honest note. In a market where Redfin scores Flower Mound as very competitive and reports that many homes still get multiple offers, a contingent offer at full price is not automatically better than a clean offer at 2% less. Run the net on both. Then run the probability. A 97% offer that closes in 30 days often beats a 100% offer that has a 60% chance of closing in 60.

That's the kind of comparison I walk clients through before we respond to anything, because the right answer depends on your timeline, your equity, and what your next home requires from you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a kick-out clause on a Texas contingent offer?

It's Paragraph B of TREC's Addendum for Sale of Other Property by Buyer. It lets the seller keep showing the home and, if a back-up offer is accepted, require the buyer to waive the contingency within a negotiated number of days. If the buyer doesn't waive in time, the contract terminates and their earnest money is refunded.

How many days should a Flower Mound seller give on the kick-out?

One to three days is typical for sellers in Flower Mound and Southlake. Buyer agents often ask for five or more, but a back-up buyer rarely waits that long, so a longer window weakens the clause. Time is of the essence under the addendum, so a late waiver does not count.

Can I keep showing my home after accepting a contingent offer?

Yes. The addendum says the seller may continue to show the property and receive, negotiate, and accept back-up offers while the contract is in effect. Your listing will show as Active Kick Out on the MLS, which tells other agents the home is under a contingent contract but still open to showings and back-up offers.

What happens if the buyer waives the contingency and their house still doesn't sell?

Under Paragraph D, a buyer who waives and then fails to close solely because their sale proceeds never arrived is in default, and the seller may pursue the remedies in Paragraph 15 of the contract, starting with the earnest money. That's why the additional earnest money required to waive should be meaningful, usually another 1% to 2% of the price.

Is a contingent offer at full price better than a lower non-contingent offer?

Not automatically. Compare your net proceeds on both, then weigh the odds each one actually closes and when. A slightly lower offer with no sale contingency that closes in 30 days often nets more, after carrying costs and lost showings, than a full-price offer that depends on another home selling.

The short version for Flower Mound sellers

A contingent offer is a yes when the buyer's home is already under contract past its option period, the kick-out is short, and the waiver deposit is real. It's a counter when their home is listed but not sold. It's a polite no when their home isn't on the market at all. In every case, the addendum should let you keep showing and keep marketing like nothing happened, because your leverage is that the market is still open.

If you're thinking through a move like this, schedule a free Move-Up Strategy Call ... thirty minutes, no pitch, just a clear-headed look at where you are and what your best next move looks like.

This article is general information, not legal, tax, insurance, or lending advice. Verify your specific numbers and contract terms with your agent, your lender, your title company, and where appropriate a licensed Texas attorney.

About Brian White

Brian White helps families in Northwest DFW make their move-up cleanly, selling and buying in one synchronized step. He built BlueFuse Group on a simple standard: other-first service, proactive at every turn, faith and excellence in equal measure. Brian has been married to Tisha for 27 years and is dad to three adult sons. When he's not protecting a family's equity or untangling a tight closing timeline, you'll find him chasing a round of golf or at Valley Creek Church.

Schedule a Move-Up Strategy Call ... no pitch, just a clear-headed look at your next move.