Under TREC’s current resale contract, earnest money is due within 3 days. Know the weekend extension, seller termination notice, and why time is of the essence.
On Texas One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) deals, the buyer must deliver earnest money to the escrow agent within 3 days after the Effective Date. If they miss that window, the seller may terminate—or use other contract remedies—but only by giving notice before the buyer finally delivers the money. Watch the calendar as closely as the price.
TREC lists One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), Form 20-19 with an effective date of 07/01/2026. Paragraph 5 of Form 20-19 (text reviewed from the published PDF) covers earnest money and the termination option together.
This is general information from published TREC contract text and Texas REALTORS® FAQs—not legal advice. Use a licensed broker or an attorney for your transaction. TREC states it cannot provide legal advice on private contractual matters.
Under Form 20-19, Paragraph 5A:
Paragraph 5E states that time is of the essence for this paragraph and strict compliance with the time for performance is required.
Paragraph 5C of Form 20-19 says: if Buyer fails to deliver the earnest money within the time required, Seller may terminate the contract or exercise Seller’s remedies under Paragraph 15, or both, by providing notice to Buyer before Buyer delivers the earnest money.
That notice race matters. If the late earnest money hits the title company before your termination notice, you may lose the clean terminate-for-late-delivery path described in that paragraph. Coordinate with your listing agent the moment a deadline looks shaky.
Texas REALTORS®’ earnest money FAQ (updated August 25, 2025) explains that earnest money is not necessary to make an otherwise accepted offer into a valid contract. It is a buyer-performance item deposited after a contract is fully executed. A contract can become effective even if no earnest money is required.
Practical seller takeaway: do not assume “no check yet” means there is no deal—and do not assume a late check has no remedy. Read Paragraph 5 on your executed form.
The option period (also in Paragraph 5) is the buyer’s negotiated unrestricted right to terminate by 5:00 p.m. local time on the last day, with the option fee typically kept by the seller if they terminate on time. That is a different clock from the earnest-money delivery deadline. Our recent post on the termination option period covers that lane. Today’s focus is the earnest-money delivery and late-delivery notice.
On The Market Texas helps East Texas homeowners (Lufkin, Livingston, Nacogdoches, Huntsville, Conroe, and more) with free home-value estimate requests reviewed by a local specialist—no obligation to list. When you do go under contract, earnest-money timing is one of the first clocks that can unwind a deal.
Takeaway: Price gets the headlines; Paragraph 5 deadlines keep the contract alive. Know the 3-day earnest-money rule and the seller’s notice race if delivery is late.
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