An as-is sale in DFW still starts with an honest disclosure, and local records help you answer it. Check FEMA's flood map, Fort Worth's own flood risk areas or the Dallas CAD flood layer, your city's permit history, and what your county clerk has recorded against the house.
If you plan to sell a Fort Worth, Dallas or suburban house without fixing it, start with our Texas guide to selling as is. It explains the contract clause, the disclosure law and the buyer's exits. This page is the local layer: the DFW flood maps, permit portals and county record searches that help you fill out that disclosure accurately before a buyer ever walks through.
Why local lookups matter on an as-is sale
Texas lets you mark "unknown" on the seller's disclosure when you truly do not know an answer. Several of its questions, though, have public answers. Is the lot in a mapped floodplain? Was the back room added with a permit? Has a lien been filed? Ten minutes on a few DFW websites can turn a guess into a fact. That protects you, and it also means fewer surprises when the buyer's inspector and title company start digging.
DFW lookups: FEMA flood maps · Fort Worth permit records · Dallas permit records · Tarrant deed search · Dallas County deed search · Collin deed search · Denton records search
Flood maps: FEMA first, then your city
The Texas disclosure form asks whether the house sits wholly or partly in a 100-year floodplain, a 500-year floodplain, a floodway or a flood pool. FEMA's Flood Map Service Center is the official public source for federal flood hazard data. Type in the street address and it shows the mapped zone.
DFW cities add their own layers:
- Fort Worth keeps maps of flood risk outside FEMA's lines. The city says most of the flooding reported to it happens outside the FEMA floodplain. It tracks City Flood Risk Areas, which it began using to regulate development on July 15, 2024, and Potential High Water Areas.
- Dallas points owners to the Dallas Central Appraisal District property map. Search your address, open the DCAD map, and switch on the "Flood Plain (DFIRM 2014)" layer to see FEMA's 2014 digital flood maps over your lot.
If a city map shows risk that the FEMA map does not, write down what you found. Flood status also matters to a buyer using a loan: the Texas notice itself says homes in high-risk flood zones with mortgages from federally regulated or insured lenders must carry flood insurance.
Permit history for past work
The disclosure also asks about room additions, structural changes or repairs done without required permits. If you bought the house with an enclosed garage or a converted porch, the permit trail tells you whether that work was approved.
- Fort Worth: permit records live in the city's Accela Citizen Access portal. The city also posts maps and data downloads of issued permits. Development Services answers at 817-392-2222.
- Dallas: the Development Services Online Records page lets you search by permit number or address. The office sits in the Oak Cliff Municipal Center, 320 E. Jefferson Blvd., phone 214-948-4480. Old site plans require an open records request.
Suburban cities in Collin and Denton counties run their own permit offices. Check your city's building department site before you answer the permit questions.
What the county clerk has on record
An as-is buyer still gets title insurance, and the title company will pull every recorded document tied to your house. You can search the same public records yourself first. Each county clerk in the metro offers an online search:
| County | Online records search | Office notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tarrant | tarrant.tx.publicsearch.us | Records Filing Office, Tarrant County Courthouse, 100 W. Weatherford St., Fort Worth |
| Dallas | dallas.tx.publicsearch.us (non-certified) | Records Building, 500 Elm St., Dallas; (214) 653-7099; 8:00 to 4:30 weekdays |
| Collin | collin.tx.publicsearch.us ("Deed Search") | County Clerk page on collincountytx.gov |
| Denton | denton.tx.publicsearch.us ("Property Records Search") | County Clerk page on dentoncounty.gov |
Search your own name and the name of the person you bought from. Look for an old loan with no recorded release, a contractor's lien, or a city lien for mowing or demolition. Any of these can slow a closing whether or not the house is sold as is.
Sign up for a property fraud alert
If the house you are selling sits empty, you may not notice a forged deed until a closing turns it up. Tarrant County invites owners to sign up for its Property Fraud Alert from the clerk's real estate records page. Dallas County runs a free property fraud alert system and says one of its key jobs is keeping fraudulent documents out of the records. Both counties describe the service as free.
A DFW as-is prep list
- Pull the FEMA flood zone for your address and save a copy.
- In Fort Worth, check the city's non-FEMA flood risk maps. In Dallas, check the DCAD flood layer.
- Search your city's permit records for any addition, conversion or major repair.
- Run your name through the county clerk's records search and note any unreleased loans or liens.
- Sign up for your county's property fraud alert, especially if the house is empty.
- Bring what you found to the disclosure form and answer each question once, plainly.
When we buy your DFW house as is
Cash Home Advisors is based in Fort Worth and buys houses across the metro in whatever shape they are in. We pay all closing costs, we can close in 7–14 days, and you see the closing statement before you sign. The lookups above still help, because a clean disclosure and a clear title record make any closing smoother.
Request a free cash offer, check our areas we serve, or go straight to our Fort Worth and Dallas pages.
Want a cash offer instead?
We buy Texas houses as-is, pay all closing costs, and can close in 7–14 days.
Get my cash offer or call (817) 635-0743
Frequently asked questions
How do I check whether my Fort Worth house is in a flood area?
Search the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center for the federal flood zone. Fort Worth also maps its own flood risk areas outside the FEMA floodplain, and the city's stormwater pages explain how to look them up.
Where can I look up old building permits for a Dallas house?
The City of Dallas Development Services Online Records page lets you search permit records by permit number or by address. For copies of old plans, the city asks for an open records request.
How do I see what has been recorded against my house in Tarrant County?
Use the Tarrant County Clerk's Official Records Search at tarrant.tx.publicsearch.us. Search your name or the prior owner's name to find deeds, liens and releases.
Is there a free alert if someone records a fake deed on my DFW house?
Yes. Tarrant County and Dallas County both offer a free property fraud alert you can sign up for through the county clerk's website. Tarrant's service notifies you when your exact name appears as a grantor or grantee on a recorded document.
Sources
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center
- City of Fort Worth, Non-FEMA flood risk areas
- City of Dallas, Flood insurance and FEMA (DCAD flood plain map layer)
- City of Fort Worth, Development Services permits
- City of Dallas, Development Services online records
- Tarrant County Clerk, Real estate records
- Dallas County Clerk, Recording Division
- Tarrant County Clerk, Property Fraud Alert
- Collin County Clerk
- Denton County Clerk, Recording Division
- Texas Property Code, Chapter 5 (Sec. 5.008 seller's disclosure notice)
General information, not legal or tax advice. Talk to a Texas attorney or CPA about your situation.