01
What is a title commitment, and which page actually matters?
A Texas title commitment comes before closing and the policy comes after. The commitment says a title company is willing to issue insurance under certain conditions, and if the seller fixes certain problems. It lists potential issues, exclusions and exceptions. It is a contract to issue a policy, not an opinion or report of title.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good walkthrough names the schedules. Form T-7 carries four. Schedule A sets out the land, the insured, the policy amount and the estate. Schedule B lists exceptions from coverage. Schedule C lists the requirements that must be disposed of before the policy issues. Anything left undone there becomes an exception. Schedule D shows the estimated premium and endorsements.
Red flag
A flat answer that title looks clean is thin. The commitment does not guarantee that no issues exist now or will arise later. Under Paragraph 6B of TREC Form 20-19, a buyer who does not get the commitment and exception documents in time may terminate, and the earnest money is refunded.
02
What if the old owner's mortgage was never released?
A previous owner's unpaid mortgage or deed of trust sits on the Texas Department of Insurance list of liens an owner's policy addresses. An old loan can be paid off and the release never filed. The public record still shows a lien against the land. The title company then puts that release on Schedule C as a requirement.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the lender and the document. Something like: the loan was paid at the last sale, the release was never recorded, and the title company has asked the prior lender for a recorded release. Ask which Schedule C item that release clears.
Red flag
Watch for an answer that treats a paid loan as a closed matter. A document not properly filed, recorded or indexed in the public records is its own defect on the state list. Nothing clears because a party says it was paid. It clears when the record shows it.
03
What happens if there is a tax or judgment lien on the house?
A previous owner's unpaid judgment, tax or special assessment is on the state list of liens an owner's policy addresses. Property tax runs on its own clock. Texas Tax Code Section 32.01(a) attaches a tax lien to the property on January 1 each year, and the lien is perfected on attachment. It secures the taxes, penalties and interest for that year.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer ties the lien to a date, not to the closing. Section 32.07(a) makes the tax the personal obligation of whoever owned or acquired the property on January 1. Selling does not relieve that obligation. In Georgetown, a buyer should hear which tax year the lien belongs to.
Red flag
An answer that taxes get handled at closing leaves the year unnamed. The lien attached on January 1, before any contract existed. Ask for the tax year, the entity claiming it, and the Schedule C requirement that releases it.
04
Can a contractor put a lien on a house I am buying?
Statutory and constitutional contractor's, mechanic's and materialman's liens sit on the Texas Department of Insurance list. So do liens for labor or materials furnished without the owner's consent. Work done on the house is what these liens trace back to. A new roof, a remodel or a pool can leave an unpaid bill behind, and the title company turns that claim into a Schedule C requirement.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer lists the recent work and the paper behind it. Something like: the roof was replaced last spring, the contractor signed a release, and the title company already has it. Ask who worked on the house in the past year.
Red flag
A seller who cannot name the contractor is worth slowing down for. A lien for labor or materials furnished without the owner's consent is on the same list. A handshake with a crew is not a release. The requirement stays on Schedule C until the paper arrives.
05
Does an unpaid HOA bill from the old owner follow the house?
A previous owner's unpaid homeowners association charge is on the Texas Department of Insurance list of liens an owner's policy addresses. Districts work differently. Williamson County says a public improvement district assessment is a yearly charge that can appear on a property tax statement. It is not an ad valorem tax, so exemptions do not reduce it.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer says who holds the payoff. The Williamson County tax office does not hold assessment payoff information for most PIDs. That comes from the municipality that created the district. Since 1 September 2021 a seller in a PID must give the buyer an Addendum Containing Notice of Obligation to Pay Improvement Districts.
Red flag
Reading a PID line on the tax statement as a tax is an easy mistake to make. The 100 percent disabled veteran exemption does not change a PID assessment. Ask the city that created the district for the payoff in writing.
06
What if a missing heir or a bad power of attorney shows up on title?
Ownership claims by undisclosed or missing heirs sit on the Texas Department of Insurance list of defects an owner's policy addresses. So does a document executed under a falsified, expired or otherwise invalid power of attorney. So does the failure of any person or entity to have authorized a transfer or conveyance. A past deed signed by the wrong hand reaches forward into the sale.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer names the gap in the chain. Something like: the property passed through an estate, one heir never signed, and the title company has asked that heir for a signed deed. Ask which Schedule C item covers the gap.
Red flag
An answer that the seller has it handled does not clear the record. Invalid documents due to forgery, fraud, undue influence, duress, incompetency, incapacity or impersonation sit on the same list. A requirement never disposed of becomes an exception on the policy instead.
07
Can a paperwork mistake in the county records stop a closing?
A document affecting title that is not properly executed, signed, witnessed, notarized or delivered is a defect on the Texas Department of Insurance list. So is a document not properly filed, recorded or indexed in the public records. So is a defect arising from an improper prior foreclosure. The problem is not the current owner's conduct. The problem is the record.
What a strong answer sounds like
A good answer points at one instrument and one fix. Something like: a deed from an earlier sale was never indexed, and the title company needs a corrected filing first. In Georgetown, Round Rock and Liberty Hill, where T. Kerr Property Group works, that request lands on Schedule C like any other requirement.
Red flag
A promise to fix it at closing with no document named is thin. A requirement has to be disposed of to the company's satisfaction before the policy issues. Ask for the recorded instrument, not an assurance.
08
Does an owner's policy cover an easement or a boundary dispute?
Undisclosed or unrecorded easements not otherwise apparent sit on the Texas Department of Insurance list of covered defects. So does having no right of access to and from the land. So do undisclosed restrictive covenants. Boundaries work differently. Title insurance does not protect against a boundary dispute with a neighbor unless additional coverage is purchased.
What a strong answer sounds like
The printed Schedule B item 2 exception covers any discrepancies, conflicts, or shortages in area or boundary lines, or any encroachments or protrusions, or any overlapping of improvements. Amending it narrows the exception to shortages in area only. Rate Rule R-16 prices that amendment at $0 on a loan policy, and at 5 percent of the basic premium rate on a residential owner's policy, with a $20 minimum.
Red flag
Assuming the owner's policy settles a fence argument is the costly read. Schedule B item 2 is an exception, not a requirement, so nothing has to be cleared to close. Ask whether the exception was amended.
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.
