01
Is this address actually inside Georgetown city limits, or in the ETJ?
Georgetown's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, is a buffer area just outside the city limits. The Texas Local Government Code gives every city one. It marks potential growth and future service boundaries. There is no zoning in the ETJ. Services there come from the county sheriff, the applicable fire and emergency districts, and county road maintenance.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer is specific. The builder or the City confirms the lot sits inside the city limits, or confirms it sits in the ETJ. Even in the ETJ, the City still reviews subdivision of land, stormwater, utility evaluations, driveway permits and sign permits.
Red flag
The warning sign is a shrug. Saying the mailing address reads Georgetown, so the lot must be in the city, skips the question. In the ETJ, law enforcement comes from the county sheriff and the roads are maintained by the county. The buyer should get that answer in writing.
02
Which taxing entities will bill this specific lot?
A new build's property tax bill is set by the entities tied to that one parcel. The subdivision name does not decide it. The Williamson Central Appraisal District, or WCAD, appraises property and administers exemptions for Williamson County. A per parcel breakdown of the taxing entities and their rates is published at williamsonpropertytaxes.org. That is where a Georgetown owner sees exactly which entities tax their own account.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer points at the parcel, not a flyer. The buyer looks the lot up at williamsonpropertytaxes.org and reads the entity list on that account. In Georgetown, Round Rock and Liberty Hill, where T. Kerr Property Group works, Tanya Kerr has been named an expert source on the Central Texas market.
Red flag
Watch for one blended number with no entity list behind it. A quoted tax figure that cannot be traced back to the parcel is not an answer. WCAD keeps an office at 625 FM 1460 in Georgetown, and a buyer can confirm the account there before signing.
03
Is this new build lot inside a MUD?
A municipal utility district, or MUD, is created and governed under Texas Water Code Chapter 54. General district law sits in Chapter 49. TREC publishes a Notice to Purchaser of Special Taxing or Assessment District. A seller inside a MUD must deliver that notice to the buyer. The notice is the document that puts the district on the record.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer hands over paper. The buyer receives the TREC Notice to Purchaser of Special Taxing or Assessment District, signed and dated, before signing the builder contract. A clear sentence sounds like this: the lot is in a MUD, and here is the notice.
Red flag
A red flag is a spoken yes or no with no notice attached. A sales office that says the district question gets handled at closing has delivered nothing. Delivering the notice is the seller's duty inside a MUD, so the buyer should ask for it in writing.
04
Is this lot in a PID, and what does the assessment do?
A public improvement district assessment in Williamson County is a yearly assessment. It can be included on a property tax statement, but it is not an ad valorem property tax. Exemptions do not reduce it. The 100 percent disabled veteran exemption does not apply to it and does not change the amount. The Georgetown created PIDs on the county list are Cimarron Hills, Georgetown Village and Parks at Westhaven.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer comes with the addendum. Since 1 September 2021 a seller of residential or commercial property in a PID must give the buyer an Addendum Containing Notice of Obligation to Pay Improvement Districts. The buyer should also ask the municipality that created the district for the current assessment.
Red flag
Watch for a payoff quote from the wrong office. The county tax office does not hold assessment payoff information for most PIDs. That comes from the municipality that created the district. Treating the assessment as a tax that exemptions will shrink is the other common error.
05
Do I have to sign a buyer representation agreement before I tour a model home?
Senate Bill 1968 took effect on 1 January 2026. It adds Occupations Code Section 1101.563. A license holder who performs any act of real estate brokerage for a prospective buyer of residential real property must enter a written agreement with that buyer. The agreement has to be in place before that license holder shows any residential real property.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer is a signed agreement in hand. The agreement must disclose, in conspicuous language, that broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable. The buyer reads that line, then negotiates the fee and the term before anyone signs.
Red flag
A red flag is a sales office that waves the agreement off as a formality. Another is a rushed signature at the model home door with no time to read it. The agreement sets how the buyer's agent gets paid, so it earns a careful read.
06
Is the builder using its own contract instead of the standard resale form?
The TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract is a resale form. It is not the paperwork a builder normally uses. A builder writes its own contract, and that contract governs the sale. The deposit terms and any right to cancel are whatever the builder's document says. A term the resale form carries does not exist here unless the builder's contract puts it there.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer is a marked up copy. The buyer can point to the exact paragraph that says what happens to the deposit if the sale falls through. The buyer can also point to the paragraph that sets out any termination right, and the window for using it.
Red flag
A red flag is a sales agent answering deposit and cancellation questions from memory. Another is pressure to sign at the table the same day. The answer belongs in the builder's own contract, in writing, and an attorney can review it first.
07
Who provides water and wastewater service to this lot?
Where a lot is not served by municipal wastewater, the system is an on site sewage facility, or OSSF. Williamson County's Department of Infrastructure issues OSSF permits for Williamson County. Land inside the City of Austin is the one exception. Applications are accepted only online, through My Government Online. Construction cannot begin on the facility until an Authorization to Construct is granted.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the provider for that address. On a lot with an OSSF, the buyer sees the application filed through My Government Online and the Authorization to Construct itself. A clear sentence sounds like this: authorization was granted, and here is the copy.
Red flag
A red flag is a build schedule that assumes OSSF work can start before the county signs off. A property owner must receive authorization from the department to install a system. A verbal go ahead from a sales office is not that authorization.
08
Does this lot sit over a TCEQ regulated Edwards Aquifer zone?
Parts of Williamson County sit over TCEQ regulated Edwards Aquifer zones. Before building on the recharge, transition or contributing zones, a plan must be reviewed and approved by the TCEQ Edwards Aquifer Protection Program. Only portions of the aquifer are regulated by TCEQ. A map viewer shows whether a specific project sits over a regulated zone.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer cites the map and the calendar. The builder or the buyer checks the TCEQ map viewer for that exact lot. Where a plan is required, administrative review can take up to 30 days. Technical review of an administratively complete application takes 90 days under 30 TAC 213.4(e).
Red flag
A red flag is a closing date set with no room for that review. Williamson County is served by the TCEQ Austin Regional Office for this program. Once a plan is approved the site is monitored for compliance, so the duty does not end at the permit.
09
Is a plat required for this lot, and has it been recorded?
A plat is required for the division or development of land inside the Georgetown city limits or the ETJ. Parcels being subdivided that remain over 5 acres do not need a plat. That exemption sits in Chapter 3.08.020 of the Unified Development Code. The City reviews and regulates the subdivision of land in the city limits and in the ETJ.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer is a recorded plat with the lot on it. The buyer asks to see the plat, finds the lot and block, and checks that the dimensions match the contract. On an acreage tract, the buyer also asks whether the over 5 acre exemption was used.
Red flag
A red flag is a lot sold off a marketing map with no plat behind it. A sales map is not a plat. The City reviews subdivision of land in the city limits and in the ETJ, so the buyer should get the recorded document rather than a rendering.
10
Will there be a survey, and will the title company accept an existing one?
On the TREC resale contract the survey sits at Paragraph 6C, and the parties check one box only. Box 1: the seller furnishes an existing survey plus a T-47 affidavit or a T-47.1 declaration. Box 2: the buyer obtains a new survey at the buyer's expense. Box 3: the seller furnishes a new survey at the seller's expense. A builder's own contract may handle it another way.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the surveyor and the paperwork. The survey must be made by a registered professional land surveyor acceptable to the title company and the buyer's lender. The T-47 and the T-47.1 both took effect on 1 November 2024. The T-47 is sworn before a notary. The T-47.1 is not.
Red flag
A red flag is an assumption that the title company will take whatever survey exists. On the resale form that acceptance is not automatic. If the title company or the buyer's lender will not accept the existing survey, a new survey is obtained. The box checked on the form decides who pays.
11
Has an independent inspection been arranged, separate from the builder's own?
On the TREC resale contract, Paragraph 7A lets the buyer have the property inspected by inspectors selected by the buyer and licensed by TREC. The seller permits access at reasonable times. The seller must also turn existing utilities on, at the seller's expense, and keep them on while the contract is in effect.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the inspector and the scope. The inspector is selected by the buyer and licensed by TREC, or otherwise permitted by law. Hydrostatic testing must be separately authorized by the seller in writing.
Red flag
A red flag is a sales office offering the builder's own inspection as a substitute. An inspection run by the builder is not an inspection selected by the buyer. Timing is its own subject and belongs in a guide on inspection deadlines.
12
What is planned on the land around this subdivision?
There is no zoning in the Georgetown ETJ. The use of nearby land is not fixed by a zoning map there. The City still reviews and regulates the subdivision of land, and sign permits, in the ETJ. Property in unincorporated areas of the county must comply with all Williamson County regulations, including its subdivision regulations.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer points at records, not reassurance. The buyer asks the City about subdivision and plat activity near the lot. The buyer asks Williamson County about land in the unincorporated areas nearby. A clear sentence sounds like this: here is what has been submitted next door.
Red flag
A red flag is a promise that the field behind the lot will stay open. A sales agent cannot commit the owner of other land. Where there is no zoning, a buyer should treat an open field as land that can be subdivided under the applicable rules.
This article is general information about the Central Texas market and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Statutes, rates, deadlines and district rules change. Confirm anything that affects a decision with a licensed attorney, a tax professional, the Williamson County Tax Assessor Collector or the Williamson Central Appraisal District before acting on it.
