Real Estate Attorney:
Buying and Selling Real Estate | Renting and Leasing Real Estate | Real Estate Contracts | Property Law | Property Needs

This firm can help with your real estate needs in multiple ways.

For Example:

Contract Drafting and Review:

We can draft an original contract to suit your needs or review and fix a contract you are asked to sign.

These are just some examples of Real Estate Contracts we can help with:

Residential Sales Contracts:

These contracts allow for the purchase of the residential real estate.

These contracts set out all the terms and responsibilities of the parties involved. 

Real estate agents and realtors are not allowed to add language to the pre-printed forms they must work with, but a Real Estate Attorney can draft the contract to suit the needs of their clients.

Residential Lease Contracts:

These contracts allow for the lease of residential real estate.

These contracts set out all the terms and responsibilities of the parties involved. 

Real estate agents and realtors are not allowed to add language to the pre-printed forms they must work with, but a Real Estate Attorney can draft the contract to suit the needs of their clients.

Commercial Lease Contracts:

These contracts allow for the leasing of commercial real estate.

These contracts set out all the terms and responsibilities of the parties involved. 

Real estate agents and realtors are not allowed to add language to the pre-printed forms they must work with, but a Real Estate Attorney can draft the contract to suit the needs of their clients.

Commercial Sales Contracts:

These contracts allow for the purchase of the commercial real estate.

These contracts set out all the terms and responsibilities of the parties involved. 

Real estate agents and realtors are not allowed to add language to the pre-printed forms they must work with, but a Real Estate Attorney can draft the contract to suit the needs of their clients.

Partition Contracts:

These contracts turn the community property of married couples into separate property.

Why turn community property into separate property?

Community property is considered the property of both spouses.

Based on the type of community property it is, some community property can be subject to the debts of both spouses. 

Therefore, creditors can come after community property to collect for debts, no matter which spouse owns the debt.

Easement Contracts:

These contracts allow owners to give others the right of way.

Sublease Agreements:

A Real Estate Attorney can draft your sublease agreement.

Subleases are arrangements between the lessee (the person leasing) and a third party where the lessee leases some or all their space to another third party (the sub-leaser).

If you cannot afford your rent and want to maintain your credit, this may be a possibility to pay your rent.

A Real Estate Attorney can inform you of your rights to sublease or negotiate with your landlord to give you the freedom to sublease if the lease contract does not allow you to. 

Letters of Intent:

A letter of intent is a great starting point for real estate transactions. 

They are customarily used in most commercial real estate transactions. 

However, when done correctly by a competent Real Estate Attorney, the Letter of Intent can be an essential tool in a residential real estate transaction that involves any level of sophistication.

Purchase Offers:

A Real Estate Attorney can draft a formal purchase offer that outlines the purchase terms as they would be if the offer is accepted.

This document is vital when conditions in the offer go beyond accepting the price.

There is an order of operations for sophisticated real estate transactions, and Purchase Offers are one of the last steps of the transaction.

Owner financing:

We can help you sell your real estate through owner financing.

Why owner financing?

You close faster, which means you get money more quickly.

You can sell to some that would not otherwise qualify.

There is less cost to sell your home.

However, there are many considerations when going this route, and talking to a Real Estate Attorney with your best interest in mind is invaluable.

Deed of Trust:

These are not deeds. 

They are one way of financing real estate. 

The document involves three parties: the grantor, the grantee, and the trustee. The trustee will hold legal title of the property with duties to either transfer the title if necessary or enforce the “power of sale” clause and sell the property through a non-judicial foreclosure process to primarily pay the beneficiary. 

Power of Sale Clauses:

Most foreclosures involve a lawsuit; these are called judicial foreclosures. In contrast, other foreclosures can be carried out without suit (non-judicial foreclosures) due to the power given by the power of sale clauses.

Lien Removal:

Liens need to be removed to deliver a Marketable Title.

Marketable Title:

A title that is free from any claims by others is a title that a seller must pass unless a contract says otherwise.

We can help you find the liens and remove them from your title.

Deeds:

General warranty deed:

This deed is the most looked-for and commonly used type of deed. This deed makes six main covenants (promises) at Common-Law (court-made law). 

However, the Texas property code list only versions of the covenant of seisin and the covenant against encumbrances. 

Although a deed will not have the exact language found below, the covenants are listed because a deed still, through specific language, tries to relay the same covenants.

The six traditional covenants are:

1. Covenant of seisin:

The grantor warrants that they own the estate that they purport to convey.

2. Covenant of right to convey:

The grantor warrants that they have the right to transfer the property.

3. Covenant against encumbrances:

Encumbrances are interests that third parties may have in the property. 

The grantor warrants that there are no encumbrances on the property.

There are three types of encumbrances:

Financial charges against the premises. For Example, Mortgages, Judgment Liens, Tax Liens, and Assessments. 

Estates or interests in the property. For Example, Leases, Life Estates, or Dower Rights. 

Easements or servitudes on the land. For Examples: Rights of Way, Restrictive Covenants, and Profits.

4. Covenant of General Warranty:

The grantor warrants that they will defend against lawful claims and compensate the grantee for any loss that the grantee may sustain by asserting superior title.

5. Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment:

The grantor warrants that the grantee will not be disturbed in the possession and enjoyment of the property by an assertion of superior title. 

This covenant is identical to the covenant of general warranty and is often omitted from General Warranty Deeds.

6. Covenant of Further Assurances:

The grantor promises to execute any other documents needed to perfect the title conveyed.

Special Warranty Deed:

This deed is equal to the General Warranty Deed with one significant distinction. A General Warranty Deed protects the buyer from all activity involving Marketable Title. In contrast, a Special Warranty Deed is just a warranty by the grantor that covers the grantee (person receiving the deed) only from when the grantor had the property.

Quit Claim Deed:

This deed is just a deed transferring whatever rights the grantor may have. 

It gives no warranties and assurances other than the grantor saying it is no longer mine; it is yours. 

The fact that the property belonged to the grantor is not guaranteed. 

You get the property with whatever other disputes or rights others may have with the property.

Finally, most title companies are not willing to insure a Quitclaim Deed. 

Most title companies will not risk their name being tarnished and, worse yet, being sued by guaranteeing that the title is marketable (the title is clear and ready to be transferred) when a quitclaim deed is present. 

That means the property cannot be transferred using traditional lending methods as compensation. 

Most lenders will only lend money on the property if a title company has insured the property.

A title company, amongst other things, researches the title to make sure it is fit to transfer. After a title company thinks the title is suitable to transfer, the title company will insure the title.

The grantee (the person receiving the quitclaim deed) can only claim bona fide purchaser for value (BFP) status for four years after.

BFP is a defense raised by a later purchaser in a title dispute. It must be given by a person who bought in good faith, paid value, and did so without notice of third-party interests. 

An example of when a bona fide purchaser defense would come about would be when an owner sells real estate to person “A” and then sells the same real estate to person “B” before “A” records. In this case, “B’s” claim to the real estate would defeat “A’s” claim.

Texas is a Notice State. In the Notice States, you must record your real estate deed to inform the rest of the world about the rightful owner. One reason for this is to prevent people from making multiple fraudulent transfers.

Lady Bird Deed:

It is a deed that transfers title while at the same time keeping an enhanced life estate in the grantors (the people transferring the real estate). 

The grantors can revoke this type of transfer at any time.

It is an enhanced life estate because the grantors holding the life estate have all the rights to do what they like with the property as if no transfer were ever made.

A Lady Bird Deed transfer shields the real estate from the reach of the beneficiary’s (the thing the real estate is “transferred” to) creditors.

Medicaid cannot go after a person’s estate after death to collect aid given.

The grantors (owners) do not have to pay a gift tax because they own the property until their death unless the deed is revoked before death.

The beneficiaries do not have to wait for probate, which can be a lengthy process, and they get the real estate immediately upon the death of the grantor (owner).

Bargain and Sale Deed:

This type of deed shows that the seller has owned and right to transfer the property, but it makes no other covenants (promises).

Assumption Deed:

These deeds can be the same as General Warranty Deeds or Special Warranty Deeds, with one exception. 

Deeds or a Special Warranty Deed, with one exception.

This deed has a clause explaining that the grantee (the purchaser or thing receiving the deed) agrees to pay the liens on the property as part of the transaction. 

“The seller” is the person who initially signed the loan and is the original purchaser in this scenario.

“The buyer” is the person given the assumption deed. The buyer will receive the title free from the liens placed on the title by the original note signed by the seller when the buyer pays the seller and the seller pays off their title lien.

The buyer is not responsible for paying the bank. 

In other words, the seller is the person the bank will hold accountable for late payments or default because the seller is the person who signed the original loan agreement.

The buyer is paying the seller, and the seller is paying the bank.

These deeds with proper attached documents can allow the seller to pay the late payments and collect from the buyer or take the property back if the buyer defaults.

Most mortgages have a clause prohibiting borrowers (the sellers in this scenario) from giving assumptions without lender approval. The clause often includes an acceleration provision making all the loans due at once, also known as “the Due On Sale Clause.” But these deeds are often done without lender approval. Lenders are not usually known for enforcing a due-on-sale clause unless the loan defaults. 

Lenders do not have to approve assumption deeds. A property code says lenders should be given notice; however, the same code supplies no penalty if no notice is given.

Are lenders obligated to enforce the due-on-sale clause? No, and usually will not unless the loan is in default. The lender wants to get paid, and if you were the lender and were getting paid, would you care how it is happening?

The lender can approve the assumption, and if that is the case, the original borrower, “the seller in this scenario,” is no longer on the hook to the bank. The loan would be between “the buyer” and the lender now.

Title Disputes:

If someone is challenging your rights to the title, a Real Estate Attorney can fight to secure the rights you deserve.

Even if someone else bought or transferred the land before you, your right title still might be lawful. Texas is not a “first in time, first in line state.” Texas is a Notice state.

Notice states will protect the rights of a Bona Fide Purchaser for Value (BFP) against the claims of an earlier transferee who did not record their deed.

In the Notice states, you must record your real estate deed to inform the rest of the world about the rightful owner. One reason for this is to prevent people from making multiple fraudulent transfers.

Bona fide purchaser for value (BFP): 

BFP is a defense raised by a later purchaser in a title dispute. It must be given by a person who bought in good faith, paid value, and did so without notice of third-party interests. 

An example of when a BFP defense would come about would be when an owner sells real estate to person “A” and then sells the same real estate to person “B” before “A” records. In this case, “B’s” claim to the real estate would defeat “A’s” claim.

Adverse Possession:

Adverse possession is a way a person can take ownership of someone else’s property by visibly having the property without the owner’s permission for a period set forth by law. 

Whether you are trying to claim adverse possession or defeat an adverse possession claim, this firm does both.

If you are trying to claim ownership and want to legitimize your ownership by a deed in the chain of title, this firm can help.

If you plan to sell the property to someone who may need a lender, putting your ownership in the chain of title is crucial.

Real Estate Closings:

A Real Estate Attorney can facilitate closing on your behalf or be at your side while a closing takes place at a title company.

A title company ensures a title as to any defects, so traditional lenders require title insurance. The title insurance company often facilitates closings, but they do not have to. a Real Estate Attorney can coordinate the closing as well.

Some buyers pay cash, and because they do not need lenders, they do not require title insurance. A Real Estate Attorney can do the title search for these buyers.

A Real Estate Attorney can do the title search, coordinate with all the necessary closing parties, set up the location, represent you at the closing, and correctly record the transaction. The Real Estate Attorney will oversee dispersing of the funds to the parties. 

Properly Recording: 

Protects your rights to the title. 

If the deed is not recorded correctly, a Bona Fide Purchaser for Value can defeat your rights to the title.

If a title company is involved, a Real Estate Attorney can still oversee the transaction and pay the title company and all parties involved.

Eminent Domain Proceedings:

According to the constitution, the government can take private land for public purposes, but this must be done according to specific processes.

For Example: When the government takes your land using eminent domain according to the constitution, you must be given just compensation, or it is an unlawful taking.

A Real Estate Attorney can help you challenge the eminent domain process.

Setting up types of ownership when transferring property:

Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship:

This type of ownership allows all owners the full benefits and rights of real estate ownership.

This type of ownership avoids probate, and the property automatically transfers to the remaining owners when one dies.

Tenants in Common:

This type of ownership allows all owners the full benefits and rights of real estate ownership.

Property passes to heirs of the deceased through intestacy (dying without a Will) or by probate (legally enforcing the deceased’s Will).

Life Estates:

These estates allow a person to pass rights to a property for as long as a person lives (“Pur Autre Vie”).

When the person designated dies, the land would automatically transfer back to the person that transferred it.

Term of Years:

A transfer of real estate is given for a determined amount of time.

Fee Simple Determinable:

Real estate automatically returns to the person who transferred it when a condition or limitation happens. 

Fee Simple Subject to a Condition Subsequent:

Real estate that a person can get back from the transferee when a condition or limitation happens. 

Fee Simple Subject to Executory Limitations:

Real estate automatically transfers to a third person when a condition or limitation happens.

For example, You transfer to Jane, but if Jane does “X” (does not meet the condition or reaches the limitation), the land goes to Bob. 

And more.

Recording Service:

Recording adequately protects your title in Texas.

Whereas not recording correctly can cost you your ownership. 

Specific Performance:

If a party tries to back out of a real estate transaction, the court may force them to sell the property. 

The court may force the buyer to buy in rare circumstances (this may also find a basis in other claims).

Lien Priority Negotiations:

If you want to see if you can get a higher priority position for your loan, we can help negotiate to see if a higher priority position is possible.

When other people or companies have priority over you, they will all get paid first if the land is foreclosed.

If no money is left after they get paid, you will not get any money from the foreclosure.

You may still be able to get paid another way, but that is only sometimes guaranteed.

Loan and Mortgage Modification:

A Real Estate and Debt Negotiations Attorney can modify your loan or mortgage when life happens, and you have problems paying.

A modification can:

• • • • Lower payments, 
      • Lower interest rate,
      • Lower the amount you agreed to pay back “Principle,” 
      • Get you current on late payments,
  • stop foreclosure or default.

If you are behind on your payments and think the only way out is to foreclose, sell, or short sale, a modification may be all you need.