TREC Contracts Clause Library

by BULL Forms in New Feature with No comments

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NEW CLAUSE LIBRARY FEATURE FOR TEXAS TREC FORMS

As of last week BULL Forms Texas enabled a clause library available for all TREC Texas Contracts. As with most features, we try to make them as easy to use as possible. Let’s take a brief walkthrough of the feature.

You can use the clause library to insert your favorite clauses in any field where you see the green + next to field label, like this one:

Texas TREC Forms clause library icon

When you click on the green + button, the clause library will open:

Texas TREC Forms clause library main

From within this window you can create, edit, delete and insert clauses into your TREC Texas Contracts. To add a new clause click on the add new button near the top right corner of the window:

Texas TREC forms clause library main add new

When adding a new clause, you select a title for your clause and enter as much text as you like into the content. If you are inserting a long clause into a small field the text will cut off, so please ensure you pay attention where you are inserting your clauses.

Texas TREC Forms clause library add new view

Once the new clause is added it will appear in your main clause library window. When you are ready to insert a clause into the TREC Texas Contract, select the clause you would like to insert and click on the “insert clause” button as illustrated below:

Texas TREC Forms clause library insert

The clause will automatically be inserted into the field.  If there is text currently in the field, the inserted clause is appended to the end of the current text.

Thank you,

BULL Forms

2016 Texas Real Estate Commission Forms are Here

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Happy New Year!

2016 once again brings new real estate contracts from the Texas Real Estate Commission.  Do not worry, we have all of the forms ready for you! If you are a current member you can start using the 2016 Texas Real Estate Commission forms now.  Not a member? Sign up now!

Here are all of the forms that were updated for 2016:

Sales Contracts

  • 20-13 – Unimproved Property Contract
  • 20-13  – 1 – 4 Family Residential Resale Contract
  • 24-14 – New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction)
  • 25-11 – Farm and Ranch Contract
  • 30-12 – Residential Condominium Contract (Resale)

Addenda to Contracts

  • 40-7 – Third Party Financing Addendum for Credit Approval
  • 39-8 – Amendment to Contract

Disclosure Documents

  • OP-H – Property Condition
  • IABS1-0 – Information about Broker Services

All of these forms are currently available in our software. With BULL Forms Texas you can easily complete a contract and send it for signatures with our integrated e-signature tool.

You can sign up here.

As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

5 Amazing Texas Real Estate Facts [Infographic]

by BULL Forms in Real Estate with No comments

Five Amazing Texas Real Estate Facts

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5 Amazing Texas Real Estate Facts

Texas is a big state with big properties.  We wanted to take a look at some Texas real estate facts that we thought were both entertaining and surprising.  Hopefully this infographic about 5 selected Texas real estate facts will surprise you.  From the largest Texas home to the largest Texas ranch, these facts are amazing.

Without further ado:

1. The largest home in Texas is Champ d’Or in Denton county. At 48,000 square feet the home is currently listed for $35 million.  With this much space it would be easy to get lost.  The average home size in Texas is somewhere around 1700 sq ft.

2. The tiniest home in Texas may just be one designed by a company called Tiny Texas with houses measuring 448 square feet.  Tight quarters if you are living with a family and children.  You can find plans to build your own tiny home online at Tiny Texas.

3. The largest ranch in Texas is King Ranch, founded in 1853 with 825,000 acres in Southern Texas.  You probably recognize their logo as they have been around since 1853.

4. As of the newest census data 7 of the 15 fastest growing cities in the country are in Texas. Those cities include McKinney, Frisco, Odessa, Perland, Cedar Park, Georgetown and San Marcos.  Texas is growing and at an alarming rate.

5. The most expensive home in Texas and the whole country actually is in Dallas. Crespi Hicks Estate is asking $135 million. Sources: Texas Monthly, Census Bureau, Forbes 

While Texas continues to offer big property with big real estate prices and figures, the majority of Texas real estate facts should be focused around smaller agents and attorneys.  By far our clients are made up of smaller operations with smaller group sizes.

Bull Forms offers a simple online solution to generate all of your Texas real estate forms with simplicity.  Learn more about our Texas real estate form software here.

Sources: Census Bureau, Forbes

Unimproved Property Contract TREC 9-11

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Unimproved Property Contract Texas

As of 4/28/2014 the Texas Real Estate Commission has released and required everyone to use the new form of the Unimproved Property Contract.  Lets look at what has changed and what the unimproved property contract is used for.  The unimproved property contract is actually used for land or lot sale purchases.  The contract is designed to outline the condition of the lot and other conditions that exist with the land.  This contract shouldn’t be used when purchasing or selling a structure that has been built on the land.  Lets take a look at the recent revisions to the unimproved property contract in Texas.

LOOKING FOR THE UNIMPROVED PROPERTY CONTRACT ONLINE – CLICK HERE TO USE OUR SOFTWARE

The Unimproved Property Contract 9-11 Changes

The first real change of the unimproved property contract is in the Title Policy and Survey section.  TREC has removed the statement that the buyer at their expense may have the exception read … when related to the standard discrepancies to the boundary and encroachments.    They have now changed this portion to clearly state whether or not the section will be amended, deleted or will remain in tact and whether or not it will be paid for by the buyer or seller.  You can see the changes below.

Unimproved Property Contract 9-11 Title Change

Unimproved Property Contract Title Buyer and Seller

The next notable change to the unimproved property contract 9-11 occurs in the title notes portion.  An additional tenth item has been added to the list of title notices to require the seller to notify the purchaser if  the land that is being purchased is in a propane gas system area.  As per Texas Utilities Code 141.010 and addendum must now be provided to give the additional information.

Unimproved Property Contract Propane Change

After the addition of the propane gas notice, the following section is about property condition.  Here in this version of unimproved property contract 9-11 TREC has provided additional clarification on as-is.  The prior version of the contract briefly touched on accepting the land as-is or as-is with outlined modifications or terms.  This version now further clarifies as-is and exactly what the purchaser is assuming.  This added level of clarity helps avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretations.  It also then removes the notice portion.  The notice portion is now included in the further disclaimer portion.

Unimproved Property Contract As Is

After the as is portion the Texas real estate commission has now replaced the verbiage in the completion of repairs section.  This section appears to cover the same notice but has been modified to provide a more concise message.  The wording is clearer and more easily understood.  Just under this section there is further clarification about disclosing flooding of the property that has had a material adverse effect.  It also adds this clarification to the environmental section.

 

Unimproved Contract 9-11 Disclosure Changes

The last notable change to the unimproved property contract is in the closing section of the form.  Section 5 of the closing section refers to the property being under a residential lease and the notices that should be given.  This section should actually never have been included.  This contract is for the sale of vacant land or lots.  This means that no residential leases should exist.  There are of course obscure cases of a person living in a tent and renting the land or a mobile home there but these cases in general should be handled outside of this portion and require further explanations.  After the residential lease portion there is some added disclaimer about this type of land lease though.  The lease would need to be disclosed to the purchaser and after the sale the seller would not retain that right to lease.

Unimproved contract 9-11 Repairs

You made it.  You actually read through all the exciting changes to the contract and you should be proud of yourself.  Most people don’t pay attention to these changes.  Having this knowledge and understanding whats changing is what keeps you one step ahead as a real estate professional.  If you are unaware of who we are, we offer a texas real estate form software.  Our software allows you to easily complete all of the Texas real estate forms online, send them to clients, have them e-signed and much much more.  Sign up to use our free texas residential contract or learn more about our full featured software.

Texas Sales Contract Which One Should I Use

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Texas Sales Contract

Old Texas Sales Contract

photo by Mike McKay

Are you thinking of selling your house?  Or maybe you are a real estate investor and looking to make an offer on a property.  Or maybe you are like one of the thousands of Texas real estate agents who are looking for an easier way to fill out your Texas sales contracts online.  If you are looking for a simple way to complete the Texas sales contract feel free to sign up for our free Texas real estate software here.   Looking for more information in general then lets start from the beginning.  In Texas the Texas sales contracts are actually provided by the Texas real estate commission.  They provide approved versions of the contracts depending on the details of the real estate transaction you are working with.  There are a number of different versions and we will briefly discuss them below.

Unimproved Property Texas Sales Contract

The unimproved property Texas sales contract is designed to be used for transactions that are related to the sale of land that has not yet been developed.  This would be residential or commercial land that does not have a structure built on it yet.  This would not include condominium properties.

1-4 Family Residential Resale Texas Sales Contract

The majority of the time in residential contracts this is the form that would be used.  This Texas sales contracts involves the sale of residential units when they are under 4 units.  This means that single family homes, as well as duplex, triplex, and quads would be included under this contract.  This does not include condominiums as there is a specific contract intended for this type of property. We actually offer a free solution to fill this out online and you can signup in 5 minutes here. New Home Incomplete Texas Sales Contract Another version of the Texas sales contract is the new home incomplete form.  This form is to be used for

New Home Incomplete Texas Sales Contract

Another version of the Texas sales contract is the New Home Incomplete form.  This form is intended to be used for transactions when you are purchasing a home that has not been constructed or completed yet.  You may be purchasing a home from plans or on spec and this would be the contract that is used.  Note that this contract should not be used for condominium pre-construction transactions and also should not be used if you are closing prior to completion of the construction.

New Home Completed Texas Sales Contract

Similar to the new home incomplete version there is a complete texas sales contract version.  This contract is intended to be used for the purchase of a new home that is completed.  Construction is not remaining but its not being resold from another owner.  This is not to be used in condominium transactions or closings prior to completion of the construction.

Farm and Ranch Texas Sales Contract

When you are looking to sell farm land or a ranch there is a specific form also provided by the State of Texas.  This form is called the Farm and Ranch Contract.  This specific form outlines items that are often a concern on a transaction like this.  There are items such as land rights, utilities and zoning that are more specific and important to a transaction involving farm and ranch land then they would be to a purchaser of a condominium.

Residential Condo Resale Texas Sales Contract

The last of the texas sales contracts is the residential condo resale version.  This form is used when buying or selling a condominium when the transaction does not include a developer or builder.  If you are buying or selling your condo to another owner this would be the version of the form you would be looking to use.

Lastly its important to understand that real estate transactions can be a complicated and expensive ordeal.  If you have concern over how to complete any one of the Texas sales contracts or exactly which version pertains to you we would advise you consult with a professional.  Our real estate form software allows you to easily work with all of the TREC forms required to buy and sell property and you can learn more here about our Texas sales contract software.

Share TREC Forms

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As a Texas real estate professional there are often times that you would like your clients to complete portions of the TREC forms. The current workflow typically entails emailing your clients the form and then waiting for them to complete it (many times with multiple revisions), sign and date the form and then send it back to you via fax or email.  In addition to degrading the quality of your document due to multiple transmissions back and forth, you are wasting precious time waiting for your customer to fax or email the form back to you.

Our goal at BULL Forms has always been to make your jobs easier. Completing Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) forms should not require hours of work.  Great news, BULL Forms has a feature to help you save time … Share

Sharing TREC Forms

Once you are ready to share a form, click on the share icon from within your form, outlined in red below: Share Texas Real Estate Contract   Once clicked, a window will open requesting that you enter the information on the parties that you would like to share the document with.

Send TREC contract for completion

You can send the email to multiple parties by entering a comma between each of the emails.  Also, you should enter some descriptive comments so that the parties you are sharing your document with are aware of what and why they are completing the form.

Once completed, the parties will receive an email like the one illustrated below:

Email TREC contracts

The link will expire after 7 days.  If the parties you shared the form with are having issues clicking on the email, instruct them to copy and paste the link into their web browser.  Once they have clicked on the link they will be taken to the TREC real estate contract you chose to share with them.  It should look familiar to you as it is similar to our classic view.

Share TREC Forms View

Once they have completed entering their information they will click on the submit button.

Once your clients click on the submit button, you will receive an email informing you that the parties have completed the form you requested.  The email is sent to the account you have registered with BULL Forms Texas and looks like the image below:

TREC Contract Completed

When you log back into your account the form will have all of the information your parties entered into the document.  You can now send this document to them for e-signature.

The sharing feature is available for all of the forms, therefore, you can share a contract with an attorney if they would like to review a contract or with any other interested parties.

Thank you,

BULL Forms Team

Texas Real Estate Disclosure

by BULL Forms in Real Estate, Uncategorized with No comments

Should I Encourage Full Texas Real Estate Disclosure To My Clients?

Texas Real Estate Disclosure

photo by Amanda Azzi

One of the common issues a texas real estate agent will encounter is disclosure with their clients’ homes. In Texas real estate disclosure is not to be taken lightly.  It’s without a doubt a two-sided issue: should you risk losing a sale by encouraging your clients to disclose all defects or should you have clients not disclose to you problems and sell the property faster? By taking a closer look at the issue, you can determine the right thing to do.

Texas Real Estate Disclosure Laws

The Texas Real Estate Commission or TREC offers a TREC Form for for full disclosure of property condition.  This form is used in residential transactions.  This specific TREC form is required and Texas real estate disclosure laws require that this form be given to purchasers.  As per section 5.008(a)

5.008(a) A seller of residential real property comprising not more than one dwelling unit located in this state shall give to the purchaser of the property a written notice as prescribed by this section or a written notice substantially similar to the notice prescribed the his section which contains, at a minimum, all of the items in the notice prescribed this section.

In addtion to Texas real estate disclosure laws and consumer rights movement, many states have implemented disclosure laws stating that real estate agents and their clients must disclose any problems with a property to potential buyers before the sale goes through. It’s essential to know your state’s disclosure laws. Pennsylvania law states that agents must “deliver” a document disclosing all defects either in person, via certified mail or fax. In many states, failing to disclose property defects can result in liability in a court of law.  With Texas real estate disclosure laws the purchaser can terminate the agreement and additional fraud penalties may be applicable .

What Must Be Disclosed with Texas Real Estate Disclosure?

Generally, any issue that will cost money for the buyer or that will present a potential health hazard should be disclosed. Most states have forms that real estate agents and their clients can check off and they can provide details to clarify issues. Some of those issues that must be disclosed include any issues with plumbing, leaking water, any type of insect infestation, roof problems or defects, heating or air conditioning system issues, drainage problems on the property, foundation instabilities or cracks, any title issues on the property, neighbor issues and lead paint. In many states, if the home has been part of a violent crime, that must also be disclosed.   Always err on the side of over disclosing.  Its not worth risking it.

Failure to Disclose in Texas Real Estate

If you encourage your client not to disclose the issues with their property and they sell the property without doing so, they could end up facing some pretty stiff consequences. Should the buyer go to court and sue, your client could end up paying for repairs and damages resulting from the undisclosed defect, attorney’s fees, punitive damages, and more. In addition, your client could be forced to take back the house if the court finds the sale invalid.  Furthermore you could face sanctions against your license or be sued personally.  We highly recommend you disclose and encourage your clients to do so.

Maintaining an Honorable Reputation

Perhaps most importantly of all, it’s the ethical thing to do to disclose defects with the property. No real estate agent would want their mother, sister, brother or another family member to purchase a home only to end up discovering that it’s full of defects and problems. So, why would you try to sell a home riddled with defects to another person? To maintain an honorable reputation and do the right thing, you should always encourage your clients to disclose defects with their property.

Talk to your clients about the responsibility of disclosing property defects and issues. Discuss the potential problems with selling the home (slower response from potential buyers) and discuss the consequences for not disclosing those problems. Maintain an honorable position and let your client know that it’s always the right thing to do to disclose problems and hazards.  Lastly with Texas real estate disclosure its important to take it seriously.  If you are in doubt, contact and attorney to discuss and get advice.  We are not qualified attorneys and you should always consult a professional when dealing with texas real estate disclosure issues and transactions.

Texas Real Estate Forms and Things to Consider

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Texas Real Estate Forms

People willing to purchase or sell a home need to enter into contracts, which are legally binding on both the parties. As per Texas law, homebuyers need to sign a TREC or Texas Real Estate Form provided by the Commission unless assisted with an attorney. Each and every section of this contract is extremely important and therefore needs to be clearly understood by both the parties before signing on the dotted lines. Though the following information may not be comprehensive it will still give you an idea of the things that you can expect to see in Texas real estate forms.

Texas Real Estate Forms

photo by Jack

It’s necessary to get some expert advice before signing such an important document such as Texas real estate forms. Purchasing a home is one of the biggest decisions that an individual takes and also probably one of the biggest investments that one makes. Given this importance, it is necessary that one understands every clause before signing it.  Given the complexity and nuances, you should seek the advice of a real estate agent or an attorney in this regard.

If you are using third party financing, then both the buyer and the seller should take special note of paragraph 4(A)(2) of the Contract. This portion of the Texas Real Estate Forms offers buyers the option to choose whether they want to avail third party financing. Even if the buyer chooses not to avail the option or fails to get financing as per the standard Texas real estate forms, then he/she must fulfill the other obligations.

The Contract also requires the buyer to pay an amount as earnest money or additional earnest money. This payment is made by the buyer at the initial stages of the Contract and is a way of reassuring the seller that the buyer is also interested in the property and stands the risk of losing a significant amount if the deal fails. If the buyer fails to deposit the money within a stipulated time, then the buyer would be in default and the seller can cancel the deal as per the terms of the Contract.

An important part of the home buying process is the title insurance policy, generally issued by a title insurance company.  Within the Texas real estate forms there are stipulations for how title is obtained and who pays for these costs.  Title Insurance safeguards buyers from any errors in the title search. In case the title is not as reported then the issuing company will have to reimburse the buyer and pay the amount mentioned in the title insurance document. Such a policy is intended to lower the losses suffered by the buyer owing to errors in the title made in the past.  Based on the options chosen in paragraph 6(A), the seller or the buyer needs to pay for the Policy and is compulsory in cases where third party financing is availed by the buyer.

Texas real estate forms also mention the condition of the property once the process of sale begins. These include details such as the condition of the walls, fences, floors and roof.  As always you should take the time and hire a professional to inspect the property to make sure there are no hidden deficiencies.

The buyer and the seller should carefully look into all these details before going ahead with the deal and as always consult with experts when generating Texas real estate forms.  The transactions are too complicated and costly to jeopardize a mistake that may easily have been fixed with a professional.

To learn more about our TREC Form Software Click Here.

NEW TREC Forms – New Texas Real Estate Forms as of 2014

by BULL Forms in Uncategorized with No comments
New TREC Forms

Photo by Jack Keene

As of March 5 2014 the Texas Real Estate Commission have released one new form updated forms with two replacement forms.  Here are the details of these new TREC Forms.

New TREC Forms new release:

47-0 : Addendum for Property in a Propane Gas System Service Area  –  This is essentially a disclaimer that your property may be located in an area that uses propane gas and notice that there may be additional costs associated with getting service and connections for the property.  Its a further disclosure to protect the purchaser.

New TREC Forms Updated:

40-6 : Third Party Financing Addendum for Credit Approval

37-5 : Subdivision Information, Including Resale Certificate for Property Subject to Membership in a Property Owners’ Association

 

As always these updated forms are included at no additional charge and are updated in our TREC Forms library.  Learn More about our Texas Real Estate Form Filler Software.

 

 

TREC Contracts for your Texas Real Estate

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Using TREC Contracts in Texas and Common Mistakes

 

TREC Contracts

Photo by Steve Snodgrass

 

With the housing market recovery in place, there has been a steady increase in the number of homes sold. In fact, real estate attorneys and brokers have been kept rather busy by these robust home sales. If you are a prospective home buyer in Texas, you should always discuss the specifics of a real estate contract with a real estate professional or a real estate attorney.

In Texas, the most commonly used real estate contract is the one generated and provided by TREC or the Texas Real Estate Commission and is known as the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale). The TREC contracts are used for most real estate transactions in Texas. Prospective buyers can print the forms from the website or may access them and easily complete the TREC contracts using Bull Forms Texas Real Estate Form software.

When generating or reviewing the TREC contracts, it is important that people pay attention to the following:

Check the names of both the buyer and the seller to find out if there are any errors in spelling.  Spelling is an easily overlooked and common problem when generating TREC contracts and other real estate contracts.

The details of the property and its location should be accurately mentioned. It is necessary to clearly mention the items that are not included in the sale. For example, the seller may not wish to sell the fixtures and therefore this should be clearly mentioned in the sales contract.

It is also important to provide a breakup of the cash and other financing portions of the sales price. The components should be added up to check whether they match with the total price decided upon by both the parties after negotiations.

TREC contracts also require the buyer to state the mode of financing. The buyer needs to state if they opt for third party financing either through an existing loan or through seller financing. If the buyer opts for third party financing, then the financing addendum available with TREC contracts should be used.

As per the TREC contracts, the buyer also needs to pay an earnest money to the title company. The buyer should try and keep the amount as minimal as possible as in case the buyer fails to meet the terms of the deal, then this amount would be paid to the seller.  Likewise its in the sellers best interest to ask for as much as possible.

There is often confusion about as to who would pay for the title policy and the survey. This is something that the buyer can discuss with an attorney or a real estate professional. There is a deadline for the same to be completed and therefore the buyer should keep a tab of this.

According to TREC contracts, the seller should allow the buyer to carefully inspect the property and provide a disclosure regarding the condition of the property. It is important for the buyer to carefully read the disclosure and decide whether they are willing to accept the property with certain repairs.  You should also hire a licensed professional inspector to assess the property. Doing this can save a lot of money instead of waiting until you find a major repair is needed once the sale is closed.

Regardless we always recommend that you work with an attorney or real estate professional when completing any of the TREC Contracts as they are legally binding agreements that should be treated as such.

TREC has proposed changes to 8 different TREC Forms

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New Texas Real Estate Forms - TREC

Stuart Miles | freedigitalphotos.net

The Texas Real Estate commission has proposed changes to 8 different TREC Forms.  Below are a list of the forms that they have proposed changes for.  The new proposed versions are available for review and input from the Texas Real Estate Commission.  There was a meeting on August 13th.  You can submit comments or feedback to the commission at Texas Real Estate Commission, PO Box 12188 Austin, Tx 78711.  Comments need to be submitted no later than October 8, 2012 with a possible adoption of the new Texas Real Estate forms by November 5, 2012.  As always the New TREC Forms will be rolled out at no additional cost to all BULL Forms users.

 

Form #
(Date)		 Form Caption
TREC No. 9-11
8/13/2012		 UNIMPROVED PROPERTY CONTRACT
TREC No. 20-12
8/13/2012		 ONE TO FOUR FAMILY RES IDENTIAL CONTRACT (RESALE)
TREC No. 23-13
8/13/2012		 NEW HOME CONTRACT (Incomplete Construction)
TREC No. 24-13
8/13/2012		 NEW HOME CONTRACT (Completed Construction)
TREC No. 25-10
8/13/2012		 FARM AND RANCH CONTRACT
TREC No. 30-11
8/13/2012		 RESIDENTIAL CONDOMINIUM CONTRACT (RESALE)
TREC No. 37-5
8/13/2012		 SUBDIVISION INFORMATION, INCLUDING RESALE CERTIFICATE FOR PROPERTY SUBJECT TO MANDATORY MEMBERSHIP IN A PROPERTY OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION
TREC No. 40-6
8/13/2012		 THIRD PARTY FINANCING ADDENDUM FOR CREDIT APPROVAL
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