Do You Need a Survey to Sell Land in Texas?

Do you need a survey to sell land in Texas?

Not in every sale, but you should plan for one. There is no general rule that a seller must produce a new survey before land can change hands. In practice, the contract, the title company, and any lender on the buyer’s side decide whether a survey is needed and which survey is good enough.

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) Unimproved Property Contract, the standard form for vacant land, builds the survey into the deal. Paragraph 6C says the survey must be made by a registered professional land surveyor acceptable to the title company and the buyer’s lender. The parties then check one of three boxes that set who provides it and who pays.

The Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center lists buying, selling, clearing, and dividing land among the times a survey is advisable. It also notes that lenders often require a survey and that one is needed to obtain title insurance. For acreage, the survey is also how both sides learn how many acres are actually inside the fences.

Sources: Texas Real Estate Commission, Unimproved Property Contract (TREC No. 9-18) · Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, Sizing Up Surveys

Who pays for the survey when you sell land in Texas?

Whoever the contract says. Texas has no fixed custom that binds every sale. With the TREC land contract, the box checked in paragraph 6C sets the answer, so read it before you sign.

Under option 1, you furnish your existing survey and a T-47 affidavit or T-47.1 declaration within the stated number of days. If you miss that deadline or skip either document, the buyer gets a new survey at your expense. If the title company or the buyer’s lender will not accept the old survey or the affidavit, the buyer orders a new survey at the expense of whichever party the contract names.

Under option 2, the buyer may order a new survey at the buyer’s expense. The current form says “may,” not “shall,” and a financed buyer who skips the survey cannot use that as a reason to terminate under the Third Party Financing Addendum. Under option 3, you order and pay for a new survey and deliver it by the deadline.

A separate line in paragraph 6A covers title coverage for boundary problems. The parties choose whether the standard boundary exception stays in the owner’s policy or is narrowed to “shortages in area,” and who pays for that change. If a buyer offers to pay for the survey, make sure the contract says so.

Sources: Texas Real Estate Commission, Unimproved Property Contract (TREC No. 9-18)

Can you use an old survey to sell land in Texas?

Often, yes, if the title company accepts it. Texas Department of Insurance Procedural Rule P-2 lets a title company rely on an existing survey and an affidavit verifying it, regardless of the survey’s age or who it was made for. The company is not required to accept it, and the survey must be acceptable to the company.

For residential real property, that affidavit is Form T-47, the Residential Real Property Affidavit. The owner swears that, to the best of their actual knowledge, none of the changes below have happened since the survey date, or lists any that have. The current TREC land contract also accepts a T-47.1 declaration in place of the affidavit.

If your tract is raw land with no house, ask the title company early what it will accept. The T-47 is written for residential real property, so a rural or commercial tract may be handled differently. Bring the survey itself, not just a plat or a tax map, and make sure the land described in it matches the land you are selling.

• New buildings, rooms, garages, pools, decks, or other permanent improvements
• Fences or boundary walls that were moved
• Construction on a neighboring tract on or near your boundary
• Sales, replats, or new easements, such as a utility line, affecting the land

Sources: Texas Department of Insurance, Basic Manual of Title Insurance, Section IV, Procedural Rule P-2 · Texas Department of Insurance, Form T-47 Residential Real Property Affidavit · Texas Real Estate Commission, Unimproved Property Contract (TREC No. 9-18)

Can a survey change the price or end the sale?

Yes, if the contract allows it. Paragraph 3D of the TREC land contract lets the parties adjust the price to the surveyed acreage. They write in the expected acres and a price per acre, and the difference is added or subtracted. If the adjustment is more than 10%, either side may terminate within the days stated in the contract.

The survey also opens a window for objections. Under paragraph 6D, the buyer may object in writing to defects, exceptions, or encumbrances shown on the survey. The buyer may also object to any part of the land in a FEMA special flood hazard area, Zone V or A, on the current map.

The contract then gives you 15 days to cure timely objections, though it does not obligate you to spend money to do so. If they are not cured, the buyer may terminate and get the earnest money back, or waive the objections. Common survey findings include a fence off the line, a road or driveway crossing a neighbor, an easement nobody mentioned, or fewer acres than the tax roll shows.

Sources: Texas Real Estate Commission, Unimproved Property Contract (TREC No. 9-18)

Do you need a new survey to sell part of your land?

Almost always. When you sell only part of a tract, the new piece needs its own legal description, and an old survey of the whole tract cannot supply it. A Texas land title survey includes a signed, sealed written description and a certified map of the land as surveyed on the ground.

Splitting land can also trigger platting rules. Outside city limits, Texas Local Government Code Section 232.001 requires a plat when an owner divides a tract into two or more parts to lay out a subdivision, lots, or streets. That covers a division made by metes and bounds deed or contract for deed, too.

The law lists exceptions. A county may not require a plat when every lot is more than 10 acres and no streets or public areas are laid out. Other exceptions cover land kept in agricultural use and transfers to close relatives. Inside a city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, Section 212.004 excludes divisions into parts over five acres when each part has access and nothing is dedicated to the public. Local rules vary, so ask the county or city and a Texas real estate attorney before you promise a buyer a split.

Sources: Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, Sizing Up Surveys · Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 232, County Regulation of Subdivisions · Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 212, Municipal Regulation of Subdivisions

What kind of survey do title companies and buyers want?

Usually a Category 1A Land Title Survey. The Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center explains that this is the survey used when a sale needs a title policy. It shows recorded easements, visible improvements, and signs that someone may have rights by long use.

A Category 1B Standard Land Survey is a boundary survey. It locates the lines and computes the area, but it is not made for title insurance and normally does not locate improvements or easements inside the tract unless asked. If you order a survey before listing, tell the surveyor it is for a sale with title insurance so you get the right product.

Price depends on the job. The Research Center notes that survey categories are split into conditions by location, from urban business districts to rural land. In practice, quotes rise with acreage, the number of corners to find or set, thick brush or rough ground, and the record research needed. Ask two or three surveyors for written quotes on the same scope.

On the title side, the cost is set by rule. The premium to amend the boundary exception in an owner’s policy is 15% of the basic premium for land that is not residential real property, and 5% for residential land, but not less than $20. There is no premium for this amendment on a loan policy.

Before you hire anyone, look them up on the roster of Registered Professional Land Surveyors kept by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. Registrations renew every year, and only those in Registered status are valid for active practice.

Sources: Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, Sizing Up Surveys · Texas Department of Insurance, Basic Manual of Title Insurance, Rate Rule R-16 · Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, RPLS Roster Search

How should you prepare the survey side of a land sale?

Find what you already have, then let the contract decide the rest. Look through your closing file from when you bought the land. Title companies, prior lenders, and the surveyor named on the old drawing may also keep copies.

Do not promise that an old survey will work until the title company says it will. If you have changed fences, cleared new roads, granted an easement, or sold off a piece since the survey date, expect a new one. When comparing offers, check which survey box each buyer chose, who pays for a new survey, and whether the price adjusts to the surveyed acres.

• Your existing survey and the surveyor’s name and date
• Your recorded deed and any plat for the land
• Easement, lease, and right-of-way documents
• A list of changes since the survey date, such as fences, roads, or buildings
• The tax account and appraisal district record, to compare acreage

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

• Texas Real Estate Commission, Unimproved Property Contract (TREC No. 9-18)
• Texas Department of Insurance, Basic Manual of Title Insurance, Section IV, Procedural Rule P-2
• Texas Department of Insurance, Basic Manual of Title Insurance, Rate Rule R-16
• Texas Department of Insurance, Form T-47 Residential Real Property Affidavit
• Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, Sizing Up Surveys
• Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 232, County Regulation of Subdivisions
• Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 212, Municipal Regulation of Subdivisions
• Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, RPLS Roster Search

General information only. Local rules and individual title or tax facts require a qualified professional.