No Title yet and Option Period about to Expire - Earnest Money Question in Texas

[Lenna Groudan]

Hi All,  I expect this is pretty rudimentary to the realtors but we want to make sure we understand our alternatives.

We have a closing on an investment property scheduled on Monday the 17th of August.   Our option period expires Friday the 14th.   There is a realtor representing the seller.  We represent ourselves.

The title company is still working on the title so we do not have confirmation of a clean title yet.

Our Question:

If the option period expires before we get confirmation of clear title and THEN we find out there is a major, potentially unsolvable issue with the title, have we forfeited our Earnest money deposit?

Do we need to try and extend our option period to protect our Earnest Money until we can get confirmation of a clear title OR  does the standard Texas TREC contract allow you to recoup your Earnest money if we cannot get the title free and clear - even if the option period has expired.

Thanks in advance!