Texas Real Estate Deed Forms

Texas Real Estate Deed Information

Real property or interest in real property in Texas is conveyed according to the rules in Sec. 5.021 of the Texas Statutes: A conveyance of an estate of inheritance, a freehold, or an estate for more than one year, in land and tenements must be in writing and subscribed and delivered by the conveyor or the conveyor's agent authorized in writing. An estate of inheritance is a type of freehold estate that may descend to heirs. A tenant to an estate of inheritance can both enjoy the estate during his life and pass it on after his death according to an established order of descent. A conveyance by deed in Texas can also be made to begin in the future, in the same manner as by a will. The principle documents in Texas real estate transactions are deeds, promissory notes, and a deed of trust. The circumstances of the transaction and the intent of the parties involved will determine which type of deed will best serve the situation.

Any person or corporation who can legally enter into a legal contract in Texas is able to acquire and convey real property or interest in property in this state to another person or corporation with the legal capacity to receive property. Additionally, an alien has the same real and personal property rights as a U.S. citizen (Sec. 5.005). There are different ways to hold title to real property. The way that title is held will dictate how the property is disposed of and conveyed.

A real property instrument in Texas is able to be recorded if it has been signed and acknowledged by the grantor, sworn to by the grantor in the presence of two or more credible subscribing witnesses or acknowledged or sworn to before and certified by an officer authorized to take acknowledgments or oaths. The document submitted for recording is to contain original signatures. If original signatures are not present, the deed may be attached as an exhibit to an affidavit containing the original signatures. Instruments that are transferring an interest in real property to or from an individual must include a confidentiality notice, as required by Texas Statutes Sec. 11.008(c). There is not technically a standard form for a deed in this state; however, certain rules apply if a deed is to be valid. For instance, the intent to convey must be evident from the wording used, the real property must be sufficiently described, and the grantor must sign the real estate deed. The grantee's address is required, but the grantee's signature is only required if the deed contains specific agreements that the buyer makes in exchange for the transfer.

In Texas, a real estate deed does not have to be recorded to be fully effective between the grantor and grantee. The validity of an unrecorded instrument is explained in the Texas Statutes, Sec. 13.001. A conveyance of real property or an interest in real property or a mortgage or deed of trust will be void as to a creditor or subsequent purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice unless the instrument has been acknowledged, sworn to, or proved and filed for record as provided by law. However, an unrecorded instrument will be binding on the parties to the instrument, on the party's heirs, and on a subsequent purchaser who does not pay a valuable consideration or who has notice of the instrument. This is known as a race-notice statute and is designed to protect subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration. An instrument that has been properly recorded in the county where the property is located is notice to all persons of the contents of the instrument and is subject to public inspection. Recording an instrument also serves to establish priority of ownership.

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What others are saying:

James M. said: Very good experience.

Reply from Staff: Thank you!

Teri B. said: Glad to have all of the helpful extra information, even though they don't answer all questions for all situations. So, I accessed public records and asked questions at the auditor's office. Also, on my Mac computer, filling out the actual deed form is a challenge because the screen jumps to the last page everytime I try to type a few letters or hit the return key, so I'm rollling back up to the first 2 pages after most keystrokes. A bit annoying. Overall, happy to have these form options are available! There is really no need to wait and pay for an attorney when all the information needed is available via public records. Fill in the blanks!

Reply from Staff: Thanks so much for the feedback Teri. There are known issues between Adobe and Mac, we try to work around them as much as possible. Have a wonderful day!

Camesha Y. said: Was working with a notary client that need to do a deed. We got on this site, ordered the blank forms, he filled them out and we printed them so he could sign. Really clean forms, easy to understand and complete in a hurry. I will be letting all my clients know about this site.

Reply from Staff: That's terrific Camesha, glad to hear. Have a great day!

Carlos M. said: so far so good. thanks

Reply from Staff: Thank you!

Courtney V. said: I didn't have a chance to judge your services because I received a message saying that my requested title could not be searched. I will say, the website is easy to navigate. I'm not sure how many who use these services are laymen, but I would suggest adding a detailed explanation of each service. I had to Google the difference between each type of title search, but I might just be more uninformed than the average person, or I just didn't see it on your website

Reply from Staff: Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!