Residential buyers get an inspection report. Land buyers get an option period and a list of things nobody will check unless they check them. This is that list, in the order we work it.
1. Legal access
Start here, because nothing else matters if it fails. Confirm that the tract has recorded legal access to a public road — either direct frontage or a recorded easement appearing in the title commitment.
A road you drove in on is not proof. Long-standing permissive use across a neighbor's place is not access. Landlocked tracts do exist and they trade at a steep discount for good reason.
2. The title commitment, read properly
Schedule B is where the exceptions live: easements, mineral reservations, restrictions, setbacks, pipeline rights-of-way. Read every recorded document referenced, not just the summary lines.
Utility and pipeline easements are the ones that most often change what a tract can become. An easement running through the only good building site is a different property than the listing implied.
3. Survey
Order a new survey. On rural land, fence lines and deeded boundaries disagree more often than they agree, and a fence in the wrong place for long enough can become an adverse possession conversation.
The survey should show boundaries, improvements, easements of record, encroachments, and access. Have the surveyor flag anything that conflicts with the title commitment.
4. Water
Groundwater and surface water are separate questions with separate answers.
- Wells. Get the well log, depth, static water level, production rate and date of last service. Ask which groundwater conservation district governs the tract, and what its permitting and spacing rules are.
- Surface water. A creek on your property does not automatically give you the right to impound or divert it. Water rights in Texas are their own body of law.
- Distribution. On a recreational or grazing tract, where the water sits matters as much as whether it exists.
5. Minerals
In much of South Texas the mineral estate has been severed from the surface, sometimes generations ago. A seller who does not own minerals cannot convey them.
Ask three questions: What does the seller own? What are they conveying? And — most importantly for a recreational buyer — what surface rights does the mineral owner hold? The mineral estate is generally dominant, meaning the mineral owner has the right to use as much of the surface as is reasonably necessary. That can mean pad sites, roads and traffic on land you thought was yours alone.
If minerals matter to the deal, a mineral title run by a landman or an oil and gas attorney is money well spent.
6. Tax valuation
Confirm the current valuation status with the county appraisal district and understand the rollback exposure if you intend to change the use. This is covered in detail in our agricultural valuation guide.
7. Floodplain and topography
Pull the FEMA flood map. Floodplain affects buildable area, insurance and, in some counties, permitting. Then look at contours — dramatic elevation is beautiful and frequently means very little of the tract is practically buildable.
8. Restrictions and permitting
- Recorded deed restrictions — read the actual documents.
- Whether the tract sits inside a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction.
- County subdivision rules if you may ever divide it.
- Septic feasibility. A percolation test settles what system the soil requires.
- Utility availability, and the real cost of extending service to where you want it.
9. Environmental and physical condition
Walk the whole property, ideally after rain. Look for dumping, old tanks, buried debris, and erosion. On land with prior commercial or industrial use, a Phase I environmental site assessment is worth considering.
10. What conveys
Itemize it in the contract: equipment, feeders, blinds, livestock, hay, standing crops, and any existing leases. Assume nothing conveys unless the contract says it does.
The order matters
Work access and title first. They are the two findings that kill deals outright, and there is no reason to pay for a survey and a percolation test on a tract you are going to walk away from.
General guidance, not legal advice. Every transaction differs — work with a real estate attorney and a title company you trust.