What a Title Company Actually Does in a Texas Sale

Before you read this

Two jobs at once

A Texas title company does two separate things. It examines title — searching the county records to work out who owns the property and what is recorded against it — and it acts as escrow agent, holding the money, preparing the settlement statement, disbursing payoffs, and recording the deed.

It works for the transaction rather than for either side. That neutrality is useful when you are selling to a buyer you have no reason to trust yet, including us.

The commitment, and its exceptions

After the search, the company issues a title commitment: a promise to insure, subject to conditions. The part worth reading is Schedule C, which lists what must be cleared before closing.

Things that commonly turn up on a Lubbock property:

• A mortgage that was paid off years ago but never released
• Judgment liens against somebody with the same or a similar name
• Delinquent property taxes, and the tax lien securing them
• Gaps in the chain where an owner died and heirship was never established
• Mechanic’s and materialman’s liens from unpaid contractors
• Easements, encroachments, and fences that do not follow the line
• A missing spouse’s signature on a past conveyance

Most of these are solvable. Some take a week; some take months. Almost none of them are visible from the curb, which is why an offer is always conditional on what the search finds.

The homestead signature rule

One Texas rule catches people repeatedly. Texas protects homestead property constitutionally, and both spouses generally must join in a conveyance of homestead property, even if only one of them is named on the deed.

That surprises separated couples, people whose spouse has moved out of state, and anyone who assumed that being sole owner on paper meant being able to sell alone. If you are married or recently separated, raise it at the beginning rather than at the closing table.

Why you cannot shop title insurance on price in Texas

Texas is unusual: title insurance premiums are promulgated by the Texas Department of Insurance, which means the premium for a given policy amount is the same at every title company in the state.

So comparing title companies is about service, speed, and how well they handle complications — not price. Escrow and closing fees, which are separate from the insurance premium, can still vary.

Custom in most Texas markets has the seller paying for the owner’s policy, but this is custom and negotiable, not law, and it is written into the contract either way.

What this means for a cash sale

A cash sale removes the lender from the process, which removes the lender’s appraisal, the lender’s underwriting, and the delays that come with them. It does not remove title work. The search still has to happen and the exceptions still have to be cleared.

When we say a closing depends on title, this is what we mean. It is also why we would rather hear about a lien, a deceased co-owner, or an ex-spouse from you on day one than discover it in Schedule C on day twenty.

Common questions

A last word on what we are