Selling Land by Owner in Texas: A Step-by-Step Guide

Texas does not require a real estate agent to sell land. Plenty of owners sell a lot or a few acres to a neighbor, a builder or someone who saw a sign on the fence. What you give up without an agent is the person who usually tracks the paperwork. That job becomes yours, and with land the paperwork has a few traps a house sale does not.

This guide walks through an owner-run land sale step by step, from finding your legal description to recording the deed. If the land is in Tarrant, Dallas, Collin or Denton County, our DFW guide to selling land by owner lists the local offices, fees and lawyer referral services. If you are selling a house yourself, see selling a house without a realtor in Texas.

What you take on when there is no agent

An agent markets the land, screens buyers, fills in the contract and keeps the deadlines. Without one, you handle the listing, the questions, the negotiation and the follow-up with the title company.

You also skip the listing commission. Paragraph 12B of TREC 9-18 states that brokerage compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable. If a buyer arrives with an agent, the contract has a place to say whether the seller will contribute toward that agent's fee. You can say yes, no or an amount.

The legal side is the part not to improvise. Paragraph 23 of the TREC land contracts tells both parties to consult an attorney before signing, and the forms say they are intended for trained license holders. A Texas real estate attorney can draft or review the contract. Ask what the work will cost before you hire one.

Step 1: Confirm exactly what you own

Start with your recorded deed. It shows whose names are on title and the legal description of the land. That description is either a lot and block in a recorded subdivision, or a metes and bounds description drawn from a survey. The new deed has to describe the same land.

Then check for anything that limits what you can sell:

• Other owners. If a spouse, sibling or estate shares title, every owner has to be part of the sale. For land that came through an estate, read selling inherited property in Texas first.
• Liens. A loan, tax lien or judgment against the land is paid from the sale proceeds at closing, so know the amounts.
• Leases and reservations. A past owner may have kept the minerals. You may have signed an oil and gas, water or wind lease. Paragraph 4B of 9-18 asks whether you are a party to a natural resource lease.
• Tax status. Your appraisal district record shows whether the land has an agricultural or open-space valuation.

Step 2: Set a price you can defend

The value on your appraisal record is a weak guide for land. If the land is under an ag valuation, the Comptroller notes that productivity value is usually lower than market value, so the record may show a figure far below what the land would sell for.

Better evidence includes recent sales of similar tracts nearby, an appraisal by a licensed appraiser, and an honest list of what the land has and lacks: road frontage, utilities, water, flood exposure, restrictions and whether it is platted. Two tracts of the same size can sell for very different prices because one has water and road access and the other does not.

Step 3: Market the land with the facts buyers need

Land buyers screen hard. A listing that answers their first questions draws better calls.

• Acreage, and whether it comes from a survey or from the tax roll
• Road access and frontage
• Water, sewer or septic, and electric availability
• Whether the land is in a city, a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction or the county
• Whether it is platted, and any deed restrictions
• Current tax valuation, including any ag valuation

Keep copies of the deed, any survey and the tax record ready to send when a serious buyer asks.

Step 4: Put the agreement in writing

TREC's Unimproved Property Contract (No. 9-18) is generally used for platted land, and the Farm and Ranch Contract (No. 25-17) is generally used for rural land described by metes and bounds. Whatever form you use, the contract should settle these points:

• Price, and whether it adjusts if the survey shows different acreage (paragraph 3D of 9-18)
• Earnest money and any option fee, which 9-18 says are due to the escrow agent within 3 days
• Who pays for the owner's title policy (6A) and the survey (6C)
• Who pays rollback taxes if the land loses its ag valuation (13B)
• Any minerals or other rights you are keeping; the 25-17 form puts reservations in an attached addendum
• The closing date

If the buyer cannot get a loan and asks you to carry a note, slow down. TREC's Seller Financing Addendum (No. 26-8) opens with a warning that seller financing can be complicated and may be subject to laws regulating loans, and tells both sides to consult an attorney and a financial professional.

Step 5: Give the notices Texas requires

An owner selling without an agent carries the same disclosure duties as anyone else. For land, the Property Code requires:

• A bold-faced notice of possible additional taxes in the contract for vacant land (Section 5.010), unless a separate paragraph says who pays those taxes
• An annexation notice for land outside city limits, before the contract binds the buyer (Section 5.011)
• A pipeline notice for unimproved land meant for homes (Section 5.013)

The 9-18 form also carries a water and sewer service area notice and calls for TREC's Seller's Water Disclosure unless every exemption in paragraph 7F applies. Missing notices give the buyer a way out, and the tax notice can leave you paying the buyer's later rollback bill.

Step 6: Let a title company or attorney close it

A title company acts as escrow agent, holds the earnest money, issues the title commitment and policy, and runs the closing. Under paragraph 6B of 9-18, the commitment is due within 20 days after the title company receives the contract.

At closing, paragraph 9B(1) has the seller sign a general warranty deed and provide tax statements or certificates showing no delinquent taxes. The seller's expenses in paragraph 12A(1)(a) include releases of existing liens, tax certificates, preparing the deed and half of the escrow fee. The title company then records the deed with the county clerk.

After the sale, the buyer must file its own application to keep an ag valuation, because Tax Code Section 23.54(e) generally requires a new application after ownership changes. That is the buyer's step, but buyers often ask about it before they sign.

Common mistakes in owner-run land sales

• Copying the legal description from the tax roll instead of the deed
• Leaving the vacant land tax notice out of the contract
• Accepting earnest money directly instead of through an escrow agent
• Promising acreage without a current survey
• Agreeing to carry a note without legal advice

For the full statewide process, read selling vacant land in Texas. If timing matters, see how to sell land fast.

Selling a house, too?

If you also own a house you would rather sell for cash, Cash Home Advisors is based in Fort Worth and buys houses across DFW. When we buy a house, we can close in 7 to 14 days, we pay all closing costs, and you see the closing statement before you sign.

Read how it works or request a cash offer on your house.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Texas Real Estate Commission, Unimproved Property Contract TREC No. 9-18 (paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13 and 23)
2. Texas Real Estate Commission, Farm and Ranch Contract TREC No. 25-17
3. Texas Real Estate Commission, Seller Financing Addendum TREC No. 26-8
4. Texas Property Code, Chapter 5 (Secs. 5.010, 5.011 and 5.013 seller notices)
5. Texas Tax Code, Chapter 23 (Secs. 23.54 and 23.55 open-space land)
6. Texas Comptroller, Agricultural and timber exemptions and special appraisal

General information, not legal or tax advice. Talk to a Texas attorney or CPA about your situation.

Related guides

• How to Sell Land Fast in Texas: Clear the Usual Delays First
• Selling Part of Mortgaged Land in Texas: Partial Releases and Plats
• Selling Vacant Land in Texas: Contracts, Notices and Rollback Taxes