Geography

• Option fees are almost exclusively used in the state of Texas for real estate sales, according to the Texas Association of Realtors.
  
  

Time Frame

• The option period on a real estate contract usually lasts about 10 days, but this sometimes varies by a few days.
  
  

Benefits

• The option fee, although non-refundable if the buyer exercises the option clause, allows the prospective buyer to take a closer look at the home to make sure it does not need any repair or other pertinent problems, according to Realtor Roselind Hejl (See References 2).
  
  

Misconceptions

• An option fee and earnest money are not the same thing. A potential buyer puts down earnest money on a place as an act of good faith to show he has serious intentions of purchasing the property.
  
  

Warning

• If a person pays an option fee, she must choose to terminate the sale within the given time or else the real estate contract then goes into effect.