Buying Texas Land: Title Review vs. Property-Use Diligence

Insights  /  Buying Texas Land: Title Review vs. Property-Use Diligence

What title review covers

The title commitment describes the property being insured, the current owner, requirements that must be met before closing, and the exceptions that will not be covered by the policy. On land, the exceptions deserve careful reading:

• Easements for utilities, pipelines, access, and drainage—where they run and what they prohibit.
• Restrictive covenants and deed restrictions that limit use, structures, or subdivision.
• Mineral, water, and surface rights that may have been severed, and any surface-use agreements.
• Access—whether the tract touches a public road or relies on an easement, and whether that easement is adequate and recorded.
• Survey matters: boundaries, encroachments, fence lines, and acreage differences, which is why a current survey and a survey-deletion or amended exception should be discussed early.
• Liens, judgments, and taxes, including rollback tax exposure if the land has an agricultural or open-space valuation.

What property-use diligence covers

None of the following appears in a title commitment, and each can make a property unsuitable for your plan:

• Utilities and capacity. Electric service size and distance to lines, water source (municipal, well, or water supply corporation), wastewater (sewer or septic feasibility), gas, and connectivity.
• Zoning, ETJ, and platting. Whether the tract is inside a city, in its extraterritorial jurisdiction, or unincorporated—and what that means for permits, subdivision, and development standards.
• Floodplain and drainage. FEMA mapping, local floodplain rules, and how water actually moves across the site.
• Environmental. Prior uses, storage tanks, dumping, wetlands, and whether a Phase I environmental site assessment is warranted.
• Physical access. Driveway permits, road frontage, truck turning, and county road conditions.
• Soils and topography for foundations, drainage, and buildability.
• Neighbors and context. Adjacent uses, planned roads or projects, and community expectations.

Run both tracks at once

The most common mistake is treating title as step one and use as step two. Order the title commitment and survey immediately, and start utility, permitting, and environmental inquiries the same week. Give yourself an option period long enough to finish both, and negotiate extensions tied to specific outstanding items rather than vague delays.

A short checklist

• Current survey ordered; boundaries and access confirmed.
• Title commitment exceptions read line by line, with questions sent to the title company.
• Utility availability letters or verbal confirmations in hand.
• Zoning/ETJ status and platting requirements confirmed in writing.
• Floodplain and environmental screens complete.
• Rollback taxes, exemptions, and appraisal district status understood.
• A written plan for what you will do the day after closing.

Kumo approaches land this way for its own acquisitions, and Kumo Title coordinates the title side for buyers and sellers across Travis County.

General website information is educational and is not legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Nothing on this page is an offer to buy, sell, or lease property. Terms are confirmed only in a written agreement.