Land Acquisition & Title: What Developers Need to Watch Early
For developers acquiring land in Texas, the title process is not an afterthought - it is the foundation of your entire project. A missed easement, unresolved lien, or unclear mineral rights ownership discovered late in the process can derail financing, delay groundbreaking, or expose your investment to significant legal risk. Here is what every Texas developer should be reviewing early in the land acquisition process.
Start the Title Search Before You're Under Contract
Many developers wait until a purchase contract is executed to order a title search. In reality, a preliminary title review can reveal deal-breaking issues before you commit. Understanding the chain of title, identifying existing easements, and confirming there are no competing ownership claims gives you the negotiating leverage you need - and protects you from buying into a title problem.
Mineral Rights Are Not Always Included in Texas Land Sales
Texas has one of the most complex mineral rights landscapes in the country. Surface rights and mineral rights are routinely severed, meaning you may purchase land without owning what lies beneath it. Before acquiring any development site in Texas, confirm whether mineral rights have been severed, what oil and gas leases are currently recorded, and whether any surface use agreements exist that could affect your project footprint.
Easements Can Define What You Can Build - and Where
Recorded easements - for utilities, drainage, access, pipelines, or conservation - can significantly limit how land can be developed. Our title team identifies all recorded and prescriptive easements during the examination process, giving your engineers and architects the information they need before site design begins. Discovering an easement after you have drawn your building footprint is an expensive problem to fix.
Work With a Title Company Experienced in Development Transactions
Not all title companies are equipped to handle the complexity of development land acquisitions. Cottonwood Title & Escrow has the experience and underwriter relationships to manage complex Texas land deals - from raw acreage and subdivision plats to commercial development sites across Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio.