Don't Buy Someone Else's Problems
Before you commit to purchasing Texas property, thorough due diligence identifies title issues, easement problems, access concerns, mineral rights complications, and other issues affecting your ownership or property value.
We conduct comprehensive analysis to ensure you know exactly what you’re buying.
Comprehensive Analysis
Title, survey, easements, mineral rights, access, zoning
Problem Identification
Issues found before you're committed to purchase
Protection Focus
Clear summary of findings and recommendations
Fair Compensation
Identifying deal-killers before they cost you money
Why Professional Due Diligence Matters
Title Companies Issue Insurance, Not Analysis
Title companies search title records, list exceptions to coverage, and issue insurance policies. They don’t analyze whether title problems affect your plans, explain easement implications, or advise whether to proceed, renegotiate, or walk away.
Due diligence means attorney review identifying actual problems and explaining how they affect your intended use.
Problems Found During Due Diligence Are Free
Issues discovered during your option period can be fixed before closing, give grounds to renegotiate price, or allow you to walk away if too severe, costing zero dollars.
Problems found after closing are YOUR problems, costing thousands or tens of thousands to fix.
Mineral Rights Affect What You Actually Own
Texas property often has severed mineral rights. You might buy “50 acres” but own nothing underground. Existing leases can give operators surface access anytime, affecting your use and plans.
We investigate what you’re actually buying: surface only or both surface and minerals.
Title Problems Aren’t Always Recent
Estate property never probated means seller doesn’t actually own what they’re selling. Outstanding mortgages from decades ago create liens that must be cleared. Gaps in title chain create ownership questions affecting marketability.
Professional analysis identifies these problems before you’re committed.
What We Investigate
Title Commitment Analysis
We review title for ownership chain issues, outstanding liens (mortgages, judgments, tax liens), easements affecting property use or value, restrictions limiting how you can use property, and prior title issues that might resurface.
Survey Review and Analysis
We analyze surveys for boundary issues and acreage discrepancies, encroachments crossing property lines, easement locations and widths, access verification to public roads, flood zones affecting insurance, and improvements matching deed descriptions.
Mineral Rights Investigation
We research mineral ownership (surface only or both), existing oil and gas leases, production status and drilling plans, surface use rights under existing leases, and royalty interests if production occurs.
Access Verification
We verify legal access through recorded easement or road frontage, physical access actually being usable, maintenance responsibility for access roads, and access restrictions affecting your use.
Our Purchase Due Diligence Process
Document Collection
We obtain the property address or the description, title commitment from seller or title company, survey if available, and purchase contract to understand your timeline and plans.
Comprehensive Analysis
We conduct a detailed review of all title documents, survey analysis for problems, mineral title research, easement and restriction impact assessment, and access verification.
Written Report
We provide a written summary of all findings, explanation of how problems affect your plans, recommendations for each issue (require fix, renegotiate, walk away), and prioritization by severity.
Resolution Guidance
We advise on negotiation strategy for issues found, coordinate with seller on required corrections, determine which problems are fixable versus deal-killers, and protect your rights during option period.
Your Buyer-Focused Representation
Thorough Analysis When You're the Buyer
For your due diligence engagement, we represent you exclusively as the property buyer. We analyze property with your interests in mind, identifying issues that affect your purchase decision.
Your protection and informed decision-making are our focus.
Our Title and Property Experience
Nixon Daughtrey’s 10 years as an oil company landman included title research and surface access coordination across thousands of Texas acres, understanding mineral rights complications and title issues affecting property value and usability. Combined with 10 years representing developers in real estate transactions, he knows what thorough due diligence needs to cover from experience representing various parties in Texas property transactions.
Our Land Services Director brings 40+ years of title research experience, giving you access to deep expertise handling complex Texas title issues. This combination of legal experience, title research expertise, and real-world transaction knowledge means we identify issues other reviewers miss.
What Property Buyers Should Know
Common Title Issues We Find
Estate property never probated, outstanding mortgages not released, judgment liens from decades ago, gaps in title chain, co-owner issues, easements in bad locations, and multiple mineral owners all create problems best discovered before closing.
Survey Problems Affect Property Value
Acreage significantly less than represented, encroachments by neighbors, easements cutting through building sites, access depending on informal arrangements, and flood zones requiring expensive insurance all impact value and use.
Access Problems Can Be Deal-Killers
No legal access makes property landlocked. Access depending on neighbor’s permission rather than recorded easement creates future problems. Shared access with no maintenance agreement guarantees future disputes.
Due Diligence Timing Matters
Early analysis during option period allows time for resolution without rushing. Waiting until days before closing leaves no time to address problems properly or walk away if necessary.
When You Need This Service
Contact us when:
- You’re considering purchasing Texas property
- Property has complex title history
- You’re paying substantial money for property
- Seller is estate, bank, or foreclosure
- Property descriptions seem unclear
- Mineral rights or production exist on property
- Access isn’t obvious or straightforward
Ready to Protect Your Purchase?
Don’t buy property without knowing what problems exist. Due diligence identifies issues while you can still protect yourself.
Ready to Verify Your Purchase?
EXPLORE OTHER ENGAGEMENT OPTIONS
Buying or Selling Property
Due diligence identifies issues; transaction representation protects you through closing. We ensure problems discovered during analysis are properly resolved before you complete your property purchase.
Loan Document Review
Due diligence often occurs alongside financing arrangements. We review loan documents ensuring financing terms are reasonable while you complete property investigation during your option period.
Road & Access Agreements
Access problems discovered during due diligence may require formal road agreements. We draft agreements formalizing access rights before closing so you do not inherit undocumented arrangements.