The Steinbach Law Firm

Real Estate Law For Current or Prospective Property Owners

Call 972-960-1850 Contact Us

The Steinbach Law Firm

Real Estate Law For Current or Prospective Property Owners

CALL 972-960-1850

Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Residential Real Estate Law.

AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell

A Texas Real Estate Law Firm

The Steinbach Law Firm, P.C., founded in 1968, provides the power and knowledge of big law firm service with the personalized touch of a highly individualized and customized Texas Real Estate Law Firm.

We provide legal support for current or prospective real estate owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and corporations.

For all matters of real estate law, business planning and personal asset protection, our law firm is committed to providing you with the best legal counsel at affordable and common-sense rates.

Real Estate Law

We prepare all documents needed for any real estate transaction in Texas.

Property Deeds, Seller Finance, Affidavits of Heirship, Lien Releases and more.

Real Estate Law

Business Entities

We can advise on the selection of business structures available to you and help form your new entity.

In most cases the Texas Limited Liability Company owned by a Spendthrift Trust is recommended.

Business Entities

Wills and Trusts

We prepare Wills and Trusts.

These are the two most common estate planning tools used in Texas.

We may also recommend the use of a Survivorship Agreement, Transfer of Death Deed or Lady Bird Deed to avoid the cost of probate.

Wills and Trusts

FLAT RATE FEES FOR LEGAL DOCUMENTs

A Bill of Sale is the document used to show that ownership of any property that is not real estate is transferred from one owner to another. It is not used to transfer real estate.

Deeds are used for real estate; Bills of Sale are used for all other property.

Bills of Sale do not need to be filed with the county clerk.

A Power of Attorney, also referred to as a POA, is a written document signed by one person that appoints another person as an Agent or “Attorney”.

The person appointed as the Agent has the authority to act for the person who signed the POA.

The powers granted in the POA can be unlimited or limited.

An unlimited Power of Attorney is a General Power of Attorney. It authorizes the Agent to sign or do anything the signor can sign or do.

The powers can be granted for a limited time, or they may be granted to continue until revoked.

A Durable Power of Attorney is POA that continues to be effective even after the signor becomes mentally incapacitated.

This is a very important document that all adults should have in place.

A Durable POA can be effective immediately or it can be effective only if the signor becomes mentally incapacitated.

Beware: The Power of Attorney, whether it is durable or not, end when the signor dies.

A Guaranty Agreement is required if a lender wants another person to promise to pay a debt for a borrower. The person that signs the Guaranty Agreement must pay the debt if the borrower does not pay it.

A Guaranty Agreement can be a full or partial guarantee, and it can be a limited or unconditional guarantee.

Oil, gas and/or mineral rights can be transferred separately from the surface of real estate. A Mineral Deed is used for this purpose.

It is used to transfer mineral rights only, and not the use of the surface estate.

This document needs to be filed with the county clerk’s office.

If one owner buys out a co-owner, an Owelty Deed is used to create a lien on all of the property, and not just the share being sold.

If the Buyer fails to pay for the share being purchased, the Buyer risks losing all of the property, not just the share being purchased.

The Owelty Deed needs to be filed with the county clerk’s office.

When a tract of real estate is owned by two or more owners, the owners may decide to divide it up. A Partition Deed is used for this purpose. It divides up or partitions the tract into two or more tracts.

For example, if there are two owners of a tract of land, and they want to divide they property into two parcels, a Partition Deed is used to divide the property.

Both owners sign the partition deed which is then filed in the property records.

A Power of Attorney [POA] is a written authorization that allows one person to act for another.

The powers granted can be unlimited, which is a General Power of Attorney, or it can be limited, which is a Limited Power of Attorney. The powers can be granted for a short period of time or indefinitely.

Beware: The Power of Attorney, whether it is durable or not, end when the signor dies.

If the parties to a contract decide to terminate the contract, all parties to the contract need to sign a Release of Contract.

A Security Agreement is a document allowed under Texas Uniform Commercial Code to create a lien on personal property.

It is not used to create a lien on real property.

It is usually used in conjunction with a Bill of Sale.

A lien is an interest in property and can be transferred or sold. A Transfer of Lien document is used for this purpose.

A Transfer of Lien needs to be filed with the county clerk’s office.

An Easement is a right to use property owned by another owner.

An Access Easement is used when one owner needs to cross over property to get to the owner’s property.

An Easement can be temporary or permanent.

The Easement document should clearly define the use that is permitted, and it should specify the land subject to the Easement.

An Easement needs to be filed with the county clerk’s office.

Affidavit is any document that is signed in front of a notary public “under penalty of perjury”.

This means that if you sign the document and the information contained in the document is false, you risk being charged with perjury, which is a crime.

A common Affidavit is the Affidavit of Fact which is used to publicly declare a fact under penalty of perjury.

If the owners of adjoining properties want to clarify the boundary line between the two adjoining properties, the parties will need to have the line surveyed.

The survey is then attached to a Boundary Line Agreement so that the owner can agree in writing where the boundary line exists.

The Boundary Line Agreement needs to be filed with the county clerk’s office.

Business entities, such as a Texas Corporation or Texas Limited Liability Company, must act through people who are granted written authority to act for the business. This authority is contained in a Resolution, which is like a Power of Attorney for individuals.

A Certificate of Resolution is a document used to specify the scope of the authority granted to an individual or individuals.

The document needs to be certified by the person or persons in control of the business.

A commercial lease is the lease of any property that is not intended to be occupied as the tenant’s residence.

It should clearly specify the rights and obligations of the parties, including the start date, end date, rent amount, and premises leased.

Commercial tenants do not have the protections granted to residential tenants.

The Deed of Trust is the document used by an owner of real estate to grant a lien on the real estate.

The Deed of Trust should clearly identify the owner, lender, trustee, amount of loan, and collateral.

It should be filed with the county clerk’s office.

Texas law grants special rights and privileges to a person’s homestead, which is the property on which you work or reside. This property is known as your “Homestead”. Unfortunately, a person can only have one homestead in Texas.

If a person owns more than one property, a person may need to sign a Homestead Affidavit to specify which property is a person’s homestead.

This is commonly used with real estate loans because the Texas Homestead Laws limit the types of loans that can be made using a homestead as collateral.

The borrower will be required to sign an Affidavit declaring the property is or is not homestead property.

In order to properly clarify the rights of a person to travel onto another person’s property over a period of time, the parties should sign an Ingress and Egress Agreement to avoid disputes.

The agreement can be limited in time, or it can be permanent.

It should be filed with the county clerk’s office.

The parties to a loan can jointly agree to change any provision of a loan, but they need to sign a Loan Modification Agreement to make sure the modifications are enforceable against each other.

Any provision can be modified so long as all parties agree and sign the Loan Modification Agreement.

The Loan Modification Agreement should be filed with the county clerk’s office.

A written agreement usually can only be modified with another written agreement, called a Modification Agreement.

If a lender agrees to change the terms of a loan, the parties need to sign a Modification Agreement specifying the new terms of the loan.

A Promissory Note is a written promise to pay money. The promise can be secured or unsecured. A secured promise has collateral. If the promise is broken, the lender has the right to take the collateral and apply its value to the debt.

In real estate, the promise to pay money is secured with a Deed of Trust, which is used to grant the lender a lien on the collateral.

If the money is not paid, the lender has the right to foreclose on the collateral.

An agreement to buy or sell real estate needs to be in writing to be enforceable.

The Real Estate Contract should clearly identify the buyer, the seller, sales price, and property being transferred.

Businesses can allow the customers of other businesses to share parking lots using a Reciprocal Parking Lot Agreement.

A Residential Lease is the document that allows a person to occupy real estate owned by another person.

It should specify the obligations of the landlord and the obligations of the tenant to avoid disputes. The length of the rental period and the amount of rent should be stated.

Residential Leases are subject to many requirements contained in the Texas Property Code.

For Real Estate Law In Texas

Board Certified Residential Real Estate Law

The Steinbach Law Firm, P.C. provides services for Texas Real Estate Law, business planning, and personal asset protection matters.

For the legal needs of individuals and businesses, our law firm is committed to providing you with the best legal counsel at affordable, common-sense rates.

Speak directly with attorney Scott Steinbach at 972-960-1850 for a free consultation. Or email questions to scott@steinbachlaw.com.

Scott Steinbach is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Peer rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence.

The Steinbach Law Firm