For heirs, executors and families · Texas land
Maybe it was your parents' acreage, a lot a grandparent bought decades ago, or land now split between siblings who live in three different states. The taxes keep coming, nobody is going to build on it, and the paperwork feels like the hard part. We're land investors, not agents. We work directly with heirs and executors, we look up the record before we talk numbers, and we close at a Texas title company with no commission.
In Texas, land does not move to the family on its own when someone passes away. Until something is filed, the county record usually still shows the person who died. A title company will not insure a sale until it can see a clear path from that name to the people signing. In our experience, there are three common ways families get there.
If a court admitted the will and appointed an executor, the executor can usually sign for the estate, especially under an independent administration where the will gives the executor the power to sell. The letters testamentary from the county court are what the title company asks for.
Texas lets a will be probated as a muniment of title. Generally that is available when the will is offered within four years of the death and the estate has no unpaid debts other than ones secured by real estate. The court's order, recorded in the county deed records, works as the transfer to the people named in the will. It is often quicker and cheaper than a full administration.
Many Texas families use an affidavit of heirship: a sworn statement of the family history, usually signed by two people who knew the deceased and do not inherit anything, then recorded in the county real property records. Title companies in Texas often accept a recorded heirship affidavit to insure a sale, usually with every heir signing the deed. When the family tree is complicated, or the title company wants more, a court determination of heirship settles it. One thing that surprises people: the Texas small estate affidavit generally can't be used to pass real estate other than a homestead.
None of this is legal advice. The title company decides what it needs to insure the sale, and a Texas probate attorney can tell you which path fits your family. What we can do is pull the county record on the parcel, tell you what we see in it, and work on the timing that the paperwork actually allows.
Inherited land in Texas is usually owned in undivided shares: each heir owns a percentage of the whole parcel, not a piece of the dirt. That means a buyer needs every owner to sign. If one sibling wants to sell and another wants to hold, the land sits. Courts can partition it, and Texas law gives co-heirs some protections in that process, including a chance to buy out the others, but a lawsuit between relatives is slow and expensive. Often what moves the family is one clear number for the whole parcel. At closing, the title company pays each heir their share directly, so nobody has to trust anybody else to divide the money.
Plenty of the families we talk with are spread out: one heir near the land, others in California, Georgia or overseas. Nobody has to fly in. Texas title companies routinely handle mail-away closings with a local notary, and many also offer remote online notarization. We do the research on the parcel from here: access, floodplain, utilities and the county record. So you are not asked to drive out and walk the property.
This is the most common reason families call us. Texas property taxes are due by January 31 and become delinquent on February 1. Under the Texas Tax Code a penalty starts at 6% in February and climbs to 12% by July, interest adds 1% a month, and after July 1 a collection fee of up to 20% can be added. If the taxes stay unpaid, the taxing units can sue and the land can eventually be sold at a tax sale. Even then, an owner can redeem it: generally within 180 days for most vacant land, and within two years for a homestead or land that had an agricultural-use designation.
You don't need to come up with that money first. Delinquent taxes, penalties and interest are paid at closing out of the sale proceeds, and the title company shows every dollar on the settlement statement before anyone signs.
A lot of family acreage carries an agricultural or wildlife valuation, which keeps the taxes low as long as the qualifying use continues. When the use changes, Texas recaptures the tax difference for the prior three years plus interest, the "rollback." The valuation also doesn't follow the land to new owners automatically; the heirs usually have to re-apply with the appraisal district. On a sale to a builder the rollback typically falls on the buyer side, and we account for it in the number rather than surprising you later.
Use the form or call. Tell us where it is and where the estate stands: probate, a will, an heirship affidavit, or nothing filed yet.
County deed records, taxes owed, access, floodplain, utilities. We tell you what we see, including anything the title company will want cleared.
We put the land under contract and usually assign that contract to a home builder buying in your area. That is written into the contract before anyone signs.
A Texas title company closes. Back taxes and liens are paid from the proceeds, and each heir is paid their share directly.
Heirs, executors and administrators of an estate, and owners of record. We work directly with the family. We don't buy assignment contracts, we don't take wholesale deals on land, and we don't pay for leads. If listing the land with an agent would clearly serve your family better, we'll say so.
Tell us about your property and we'll get you a number. No obligation, no pressure.
No scripts, no pressure. A real conversation about your property with the person who'll actually handle it.
(512) 982-9406
Inherited land you don't need
Vacant lots eating up tax dollars
Tax-delinquent parcels you want off your plate
Code letters from the county
Listed properties that aren't moving
Out-of-state owners ready to let go
Sometimes. An executor with authority to sell can sign during an administration, and families without a will often sell using a recorded affidavit of heirship with every heir signing. We can start the research and talk numbers now, and set the closing for when the paperwork allows.
For a clean sale of the whole parcel, yes: every owner signs the deed. One clear number for the whole property, with the title company paying each heir their share at closing, is often what gets a family on the same page.
No. Delinquent taxes, penalties and interest are paid at closing out of the proceeds, and you see every line on the settlement statement before you sign.
No. Texas title companies handle mail-away closings with a local notary, and many offer remote online notarization.
In most cases we assign the contract to a home builder, and we tell you that in writing before you sign. Either way you get one number, one closing date, and no commission.
No. We work only with the owners of record, or the heirs or executor of an estate. We are not an end buyer for wholesalers, and we don't pay for leads.
No. Zero fees, zero commissions. Closing costs are covered. Probate or attorney costs for the estate itself are separate and between your family and your attorney.
Central Texas is home base. Pick your area for local details, or use the form above for anywhere in Texas.