Category: Texas
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Will NAR’s Speech Code Be Shot Down in Texas?
Recently, a notable opinion column ran in Real Estate News. Ryan Weyandt, a real estate consultant, wrote: “There’s no place for hate speech in real estate.” That’s also the view of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), which in 2020 etched this position into its formal Code of Ethics, binding NAR’s agents. Why is this…
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Buyer’s Market in Dallas? It’s All Relative.
Lately, the homes for sale in Dallas stay on the market a little longer. Little by little, sellers are lowering their price expectations, and Dallas home buyers are getting deals. Homes in Dallas stayed on the market, on average, for 37 days in April 2024. That’s up 8% compared to last year. Some (about 12%)…
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Texas Real Estate Deed Recording Fees and Estates Code Updates
Recent legislative changes in Texas, specifically Senate Bill 1612 and amendments to the Estates Code, have brought significant adjustments that impact real estate deeds and the probate process. These changes are essential for professionals in real estate, law, and estate planning to understand and incorporate into their practice.
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Texas Warranty Deed Forgery Plot Thickens
More Houston-area deed fraud victims are speaking out. The alleged perpetrator has already been charged with a first-degree felony of forgery, fraudulent document execution, and theft greater than $300,000, in connection with warranty deeds worth some $15 million. He would forge property owners’ signatures. Then he’d go buy their properties at a deep discount. Investigators…
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Swindlers Beware: Texas Makes Its Move to Head Off “Dirty Deeds”
They call it the dirty deeds law. Recorders of Texas deeds may, as of July 2023, card people who show up to file home deed transfers. Meanwhile, in Arizona, a swindler sold an ill-gotten deed to the Zillow® real estate company. Texas is lowering the boom. The state will now have its deed recorders verify…
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Texas AG Investigates Home Title Lock
The latest cyberthreat is home equity theft, warns the Home Title Lock company. “Are you already a victim?” The company warns potential customers to “lock” their deeds, or they could be left homeless and mired in credit problems. Now, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into Home Title Lock’s advertising.
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Houston: The Zoning-Free City. Right?
Some interesting real estate law news has come from Texas. In 2021 the Texas Supreme Court said Houston may regulate some development, without breaking the city’s unusual no-zoning rule. Wait. Houston has a no-zoning rule? And the state’s high court is endorsing ways to regulate around it? Let’s see what’s going on here.
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Texans Welcome New Guidance for Quitclaim Deeds
Adverse Possession Also Clarified Congrats to Texas, where the government just gave a boost to the quitclaim deed! People who receive their homes through recorded quitclaim deeds will now be on firmer ground in the Lone Star State. Here’s what you need to know.
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News From Texas
Untangling Titles in Dallas; Texas Eviction Moratorium Extended Stories abound about people in southern states facing denials of disaster assistance because they can’t prove clear title to their homes. It’s hurricane season — and hurricanes are hard on Texas. When Texas residents lack the legal basis for insuring their homes, or to claim disaster assistance…
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Probate Creditors’ Rights Under Texas Law
Paying off the decedent’s debts is one of the primary duties of an estate’s executor or administrator. Failing to do this can lead to personal liability on the executor or administrator’s part. The estate’s creditors have rights under Texas probate law, but all are time-sensitive. If estate assets are limited, whether the creditor receives reimbursement…
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Mineral Rights, Oil & Gas Exploration, and Surface Ownership in Texas
Questions and concerns frequently arise when owners of residential property in suburban and rural areas discover that oil and gas operations are being conducted in the vicinity. The information below is intended to provide general answers to some of the most common questions.
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Homestead Exemptions and Living Trusts: a Look at California, Florida, and Texas
The information presented in this article is not all-encompassing, nor is it meant to be construed as professional legal advice. Because homestead exemption laws are complicated, consult a qualified attorney with questions regarding homestead exemptions and living trusts in your state. Via Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th ed., a homestead is “[t]he house, outbuildings, and adjoining…
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The Mechanic’s Lien Process in Texas
A mechanic’s lien is an encumbrance on a property owner’s real estate title, used to guarantee payment to builders, contractors, and construction businesses which build or repair structures, by using the property where the work was completed as a form of collateral. Eligible parties include the general contractor, subcontractors, laborers, and material or equipment suppliers,…
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The Guide to Texas Trustee’s Deed
Non-judicial foreclosures in Texas are governed by Chapter 51 of the Texas Property Code, which outlines the foreclosure process for residential property, or the property used by borrowers as their principal residence [1]. Foreclosures of non-residential property follow different procedures.
