Texas Real Estate Attorney
Texas real estate combines some of the most valuable land in the country with a distinctive legal framework: constitutional homestead protections, severed mineral rights, TREC-promulgated form contracts, MUD and PID assessment districts, and a property tax system that compensates for the absence of state income tax. Whether you are buying or selling residential or commercial property, leasing oil and gas rights, developing land, structuring a 1031 exchange, or navigating a title or disclosure dispute, the right legal representation makes the difference between a clean transaction and a problem that surfaces years later.
Texas office: (469) 535-6260
How Texas Real Estate Closings Work
Texas is a title-company closing state rather than an attorney-closing state. The vast majority of Texas residential and commercial closings are handled by licensed title companies that prepare closing documents, hold and disburse funds, and issue title insurance. Attorneys are not required at routine residential closings — but they are essential in any of the following situations:
- Commercial purchases, sales, and leases.
- Transactions involving entity sellers or buyers (LLCs, partnerships, trusts, estates).
- Out-of-state seller transactions with potential federal withholding issues.
- Mineral rights, royalty interests, and oil & gas lease transactions.
- Title defects, easement disputes, boundary problems, and adverse possession claims.
- Seller financing, wraparound mortgages, and contracts for deed.
- 1031 tax-deferred exchanges.
- Residential transactions where the parties want to deviate from the TREC standard form.
- Residential Construction Liability Act (RCLA) matters and construction defect claims.
Our firm provides attorney representation throughout Texas for all of these situations.
TREC-Promulgated Contracts
The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) promulgates standard contract forms that licensed real estate agents must use for most residential transactions, including the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), the New Home Contract forms, and the Farm and Ranch Contract. The TREC forms are well-drafted and protect both parties — but they can be modified only by an attorney (real estate agents are not permitted to modify the promulgated language). When a transaction requires terms the standard forms do not contemplate (special seller financing, complex contingencies, unusual closing conditions, post-occupancy agreements with extended terms, environmental conditions, or commercial-style protections in a residential transaction), an attorney must draft the modifications.
Texas Seller’s Disclosure Notice
Texas Property Code § 5.008 requires the seller of a single-family residential property to deliver a written Seller’s Disclosure Notice to the buyer on or before the contract effective date. The notice covers known defects in major systems (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roof), known conditions (water damage, settling, flooding, prior structural repairs), prior insurance claims, and environmental hazards. Sellers may not knowingly conceal material defects, and the buyer’s right of rescission can extend for years after closing if material defects were concealed. We advise sellers on disclosure obligations and represent buyers when post-closing defects suggest disclosure failures.
Texas Constitutional Homestead Protections
Texas Property Code Chapter 41 and the Texas Constitution provide some of the strongest homestead protections in the United States. A Texas homestead is shielded from most general creditors and can be up to 10 acres in urban areas or 200 acres for rural property (100 acres for a single adult). The homestead designation has significant implications for:
- Asset protection planning — the homestead is generally beyond the reach of unsecured creditors.
- Lending — only specific types of loans (purchase money, home equity loans meeting strict statutory requirements, home improvement, reverse mortgages, taxes, owelty of partition) can be secured by the homestead.
- Spousal joinder — both spouses must sign any conveyance, lien, or encumbrance on the homestead, even if title is in only one spouse’s name.
- Estate planning — surviving spouses and minor children have constitutional rights in the homestead that override conflicting will provisions.
Texas home equity loans in particular are governed by a detailed constitutional framework (Texas Constitution Article XVI, § 50(a)(6)) that strictly limits loan-to-value, fees, prepayment penalties, and required disclosures. Failure to comply with the Section 50 requirements can void the lien.
MUD, PID, and Groundwater District Notices
Texas does not have Mello-Roos districts (a California construct), but many Texas residential subdivisions are located within Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), Public Improvement Districts (PIDs), or groundwater conservation districts. Each carries its own special assessment, tax rate, or use restrictions, and Texas Water Code § 49.452, Local Government Code § 372.013, and other statutes require specific disclosure notices be delivered to the buyer at or before contract. We confirm proper disclosure of all applicable special districts on every transaction we handle.
Oil, Gas, and Mineral Rights
Texas is unique among states in the depth of its severed mineral rights law. When you buy Texas real estate, you may or may not be buying the mineral estate beneath it — surface and mineral estates can be (and frequently have been) severed in past transactions. Our firm handles:
- Mineral title examinations to determine who owns the mineral estate beneath a tract.
- Oil & gas lease negotiation and drafting for landowners (lessors) and operators (lessees).
- Surface use agreements reconciling oil & gas operations with surface owner interests.
- Royalty interest transactions — purchase, sale, and division order analysis.
- Pooling and unitization agreements.
- Title curative work on mineral estates clouded by old assignments, partial conveyances, or estate-administration issues.
Commercial Real Estate
Commercial transactions — office, industrial, retail, multi-family, hospitality, mixed-use — require legal work that title companies do not perform. Our commercial real estate practice covers:
- Purchase and sale agreements including letter-of-intent and term-sheet negotiation, due diligence period coordination, and closing.
- Commercial leases — office, industrial, retail, ground leases, build-to-suit, and percentage rent leases — on behalf of both landlords and tenants.
- Entity formation — nearly every commercial purchase is taken in the name of an LLC, Series LLC, or limited partnership. We coordinate with our Texas business law practice on entity selection and formation in conjunction with the closing.
- Title and survey review with negotiation of ALTA endorsements.
- Lender representation in commercial real estate financing.
- Hospitality industry transactions — see our Commercial Real Estate for the Hospitality Industry page.
- Real estate development including platting, zoning, MUD creation, and entitlement coordination.
Seller Financing and Wraparound Mortgages
Texas permits seller financing and wraparound mortgages (where the seller continues to make payments on an underlying loan while the buyer pays the seller on a new wraparound note). These structures are legal but require careful drafting and disclosure to comply with the federal SAFE Act and Dodd-Frank requirements for residential transactions, as well as Texas-specific rules around the “due on sale” clause in the underlying mortgage. Done properly, seller financing can unlock transactions that conventional financing cannot. Done improperly, it creates significant exposure for both seller and buyer.
1031 Tax-Deferred Exchanges
Texas does not impose state income tax, so the state-tax side of 1031 exchanges is simpler in Texas than in California. We still coordinate carefully with qualified intermediaries on the federal side — identification rules, like-kind requirements, related-party limitations, and timing — and structure exchanges across state lines for Texas clients acquiring replacement property in California, Idaho, Washington, or North Carolina (and vice versa).
Real Estate Litigation
When a transaction goes wrong — nondisclosure of material defects, breach of purchase contract, title defects, boundary or easement disputes, partition actions, broker disputes, RCLA construction defect claims, or specific performance claims — we represent clients in Texas district court, the Texas Business Court (for qualifying commercial cases), federal court, mediation, and arbitration.
Schedule a Texas Real Estate Consultation
Texas: (469) 535-6260
Our other offices:
Idaho (208) 696-2772 · Southern California (714) 464-5188 · Northern California (707) 207-8005 · Washington (206) 279-4780 · North Carolina (919) 363-9945
See also: Texas (state hub) · Commercial Real Estate (pillar)
Disclaimer: The information on this page is general legal information about Texas real estate law and is not legal advice. The Texas Property Code, TREC promulgated forms, and constitutional homestead provisions change over time. Always consult a Texas-licensed attorney about your specific situation. No attorney-client relationship is formed by visiting this page.
Schedule a Free Consultation in Texas
Discuss your matter with our Texas team. Initial consultations are complimentary.
Texas: (469) 535-6260
Submitting a contact form or calling does not create an attorney-client relationship. Do not send confidential information until a written engagement letter is signed.
Related Pages
- Texas multi-state practice hub — overview of all our Texas services.
- Real Estate across five states — see how we coordinate real estate matters across Idaho, California, Texas, Washington, and North Carolina.
- Texas Estate Planning
- Texas Business Law