Guides
Texas Real Estate Law: Questions and Answers for Investors and Owners
About these guides
Texas real estate law has quirks that surprise buyers, sellers and investors: promulgated forms, option periods, severed minerals and strict contract-for-deed rules. Each page below answers one question.
Texas Option Period Explained
The option period in a Texas TREC contract gives a buyer a paid right to terminate. How the option fee works and what happens to earnest money.
Earnest Money Disputes in Texas
Who gets the earnest money when a Texas deal fails? How the title company holds it, why both parties must sign a release, and what happens in a dispute.
Title Commitment and Title Curative in Texas
How to read a Texas title commitment: Schedule A, Schedule B exceptions and Schedule C requirements, plus the common curative tools for title problems.
Warranty vs Special Warranty vs Quitclaim Deed in Texas
Texas deed types and what each promises: general warranty, special warranty, quitclaim, plus formal requirements and when each is used.
Holding Real Estate in an LLC and Due-on-Sale Clauses
Should you hold Texas rental property personally or in an LLC? Liability, taxes, financing and the due-on-sale clause that can accelerate your mortgage.
Real Estate Joint Venture Agreement: Key Terms
Key terms in a real estate joint venture: contributions, control, waterfall, deadlock, exit rights and the securities question for passive partners.
Texas Commercial Lease: Key Clauses
The clauses that decide who pays what in a Texas commercial lease: rent structure, CAM, renewal, guaranty, default and the duty to mitigate.
Texas Residential Lease: Landlord Obligations
Texas Property Code Chapter 92 sets landlord duties on repairs, security deposits, late fees and lockouts. What landlords and investors must follow.
1031 Exchange Rules for Texas Investors
How a 1031 exchange defers capital gains on real estate: qualified intermediary, 45 and 180 day deadlines, identification rules and boot.
Seller Financing in Texas
Owner financing in Texas: how it works, the Dodd-Frank and Texas SAFE Act limits on residential deals, notes, deeds of trust and seller risks.
Contract for Deed in Texas
A contract for deed lets a buyer pay over time while the seller keeps title. Texas Property Code Chapter 5 sets disclosures, cure rights and foreclosure.
Land Due Diligence: Survey, Easements and Minerals
A checklist for buying Texas land: survey, easements, access, minerals, flood zone, utilities, taxes including rollback on agricultural land, and restrictions.
Severed Mineral Rights in Texas
In Texas, oil and gas rights can be owned separately from the land. What severance means, the dominant mineral estate, surface use and what buyers should check.
Adverse Possession in Texas
Texas adverse possession lets someone gain title by openly possessing land. The 3, 5, 10 and 25 year statutes, required elements and limits.
Transferring Property Into an LLC: Title and Mortgage Issues
How to move Texas real estate into an LLC: the deed, lender consent, title insurance endorsement, insurance, homestead and property tax steps.
Easements and Landlocked Property in Texas
How Texans get legal access to landlocked land: express easements, easements by necessity, implied easements, prescriptive easements and county private roads.
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This page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Anchor Legacy Planning is not a law firm; legal work is performed by independent, licensed attorneys.