The Brink Report

Austin Real Estate News & Advice

Title Commitment and Survey in a Texas Home Purchase: What to Read and What Can Kill a Deal

Title Commitment and Survey in a Texas Home Purchase: What to Read and What Can Kill a Deal

James Brinkman
Published on: 08/09/2026

The title commitment and survey are where a clean-looking Texas home deal quietly dies. How to read Schedules A-D, when you need a new survey and a T-47, the area-and-boundary exception, and how the objection clock protects your earnest money.

title commitmentsurveyT-47TREC contractTexas title insuranceNorthwest Austinbuyer guideclosing
Property Tax Proration in Texas: What Actually Happens to Your Taxes at Closing

Property Tax Proration in Texas: What Actually Happens to Your Taxes at Closing

James Brinkman
Published on: 07/09/2026

How Texas property tax proration works at closing: why the seller credits the buyer, where the pre-bill estimate comes from, the TREC reproration clause, and the reset that can make your second-year Northwest Austin tax bill jump.

property taxesclosingprorationnorthwest austinhomestead capTREC contract