Selling Vacant Land in Texas
A lot or acreage is not a house with the walls removed. The contract, the survey and any farm-use appraisal are the documents that decide the closing.
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This page is for an owner who wants to sell land that has no house on it. The longer guides on selling vacant land in Texas, selling land without a listing agent and cover the research on listing land yourself. Here the question is what has to be true before a cash closing can be scheduled.
The contract is the unimproved-property form
The Texas Real Estate Commission promulgates TREC No. 9-18, the Unimproved Property Contract, effective July 1, 2026. TREC's description says the form is for property that does not have physical buildings, additions or fixtures on the land, that it is generally used for platted property with a lot-and-block description, and that it is not for condominium transactions. The PDF is 9-18. If the tract has a house, a barn you are selling with the land, or it is a farm-and-ranch deal with improvements, this may be the wrong form. Say what is actually on the ground. A mobile home that is still personal property is not a "building" in the deed sense; see our manufactured-home page if the home and the dirt are both in play.
The legal description beats the street address
Lots in a recorded subdivision close on lot, block and addition. Acreage closes on a metes-and-bounds description from a survey. An address, a pin on a map, or the way the family has always described the fence line is not a legal description. If the last survey is old, the title company will tell you whether it will accept it. Fences that do not match the deed are an encroachment problem, and they are cheaper to discover before you sign than after the buyer objects to title.
Access is part of the description in practice even when it is not part of the lot line. Land locked behind someone else's tract, or reached by a verbal handshake, is not the same product as land on a public road. Tell us how you drive to it.
Floodplain, utilities and restrictions
A lot can be platted and still sit in a floodplain, lack sewer, or be limited by deed restrictions to one house of a certain size. Those facts do not always kill a sale. They change who can use the lot and what it is worth. Bring the restrictions, any city letter, and the flood determination if you have one. We would rather price a lot you cannot build on this year than discover it in the title commitment.
Agricultural appraisal can create a tax bill at closing
Open-space land appraised under Tax Code Chapter 23, Subchapter D, is taxed on its agricultural value, not on what a developer would pay. Section 23.55 imposes an additional tax if the use changes, equal to the difference between the taxes imposed and the tax that would have been imposed on market value for each of the three years preceding the year of the change. The Comptroller's land-use tax bill notes describe that three-year rollback and say interest was removed from this additional tax. A sale by itself is not a change of use. Stopping the agricultural use is. If a buyer will build, the rollback is often their cost, but the contract should say so. Do not assume the title company will invent that sentence.
What we need in order to make a number
- The county and a survey, deed or tax statement that shows the legal description.
- Whether you own it outright, with siblings, or through an estate.
- Whether it has ag or wildlife appraisal, and whether anyone is about to build.
- Road access, and whether a manufactured home or junk is sitting on it.
Inherited tracts add a probate question. Our guide to selling inherited property covers authority to sign. Vacant land in an estate is still land; the signer still has to be the person the title company will accept.
Selling the tract to Cash Home Advisors
You can sell the land as-is. We pay all closing costs, and we can close in 7–14 days when the description and title are clear. There is no agent commission. Asking is free and carries no obligation, and a real person calls you back. Send the legal description through the form or read how it works. DFW tracts are also listed from the Fort Worth page and the city list.
Acreage outside Tarrant County is indexed from the Texas hub.
From Address to Closing
Three steps, start to finish. You pick the closing date.
Send your address
Send your address. We review recent sales, repairs and any liens.
Get a written offer
You get a written cash offer and we walk you through the math.
Close and get paid
Close at a Texas title company on the date you pick. We pay all closing costs.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is vacant land sold on the house contract?
No. TREC No. 9-18 is the unimproved-property contract, for land without buildings, additions or fixtures. It is not used for condominiums. Improved land may need a different promulgated form.
Does selling ag land always trigger a rollback tax?
Section 23.55 taxes a change of use, looking back three years, not the mere signing of a deed. If the buyer will keep the agricultural use, the additional tax may not arise. The contract should say who pays if it does.
Can several heirs sell one tract?
Only the people with authority to sign can convey it. Title will ask for probate documents or a deed from each owner. Start with the inherited-property guide if a court file is open.
Do you buy lots that cannot be built on yet?
Tell us the restriction, the floodplain or the missing utility. We would rather price the limitation than pretend it is a ready homesite.
Get Your Cash Offer
We can close in 7–14 days. We pay all closing costs, and you can sell as-is with no repairs.
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