You can sell a house in Texas by owner, and doing it well means handling the jobs a listing agent would normally cover: pricing, marketing, disclosures, contract paperwork, and coordinating the closing. The reward is skipping the listing-side commission. The risk is that Texas law requires specific written disclosures and uses standardized contract forms where mistakes carry real financial consequences. What follows walks through each stage in the order you will hit it.
Disclosures You Are Legally Required to Deliver
Three disclosure obligations sit at the front of any Texas FSBO sale. Skipping one can unwind the deal or create liability that outlives the closing.
The Seller’s Disclosure Notice
Texas Property Code Section 5.008 requires you to give the buyer a written Seller’s Disclosure Notice covering the condition of the property. The form asks about structural issues, roof condition, plumbing, electrical systems, flood history, foundation problems, and other known defects. You put what you know is wrong with the house in writing, before closing.
Several transfers are exempt: sales resulting from a court order or foreclosure, transfers by a bankruptcy trustee, transfers between co-owners or to a spouse or close family member, new homes that have never been lived in, and estate sales handled by a fiduciary. If none of those apply to you and you fail to deliver the notice, the buyer can terminate the contract. Even after closing, a buyer who later discovers defects you knew about can pursue legal claims.
A pre-listing home inspection is not required, but it gives you a documented snapshot of the property’s condition before you fill the form out. Knowing the problems upfront lets you fix them or price around them, and the paperwork makes it harder for a buyer to later claim you hid something.
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
If your home was built before 1978, federal law requires a separate lead-based paint disclosure whether or not you know of any lead hazards. You must attach a specific lead warning statement to the sales contract, share any inspection reports or records you have about lead paint, give the buyer an EPA pamphlet on lead hazards, and allow a 10-day window for the buyer to arrange their own lead inspection before they are bound by the contract. That window can be adjusted in writing but cannot be eliminated. The EPA enforces the rule, and knowing violations can trigger federal fines and, in serious cases, criminal prosecution.
HOA Resale Certificate
If your property belongs to a homeowners association, Texas Property Code Chapter 207 requires you to provide the buyer with a resale certificate from the HOA. The certificate typically covers dues, special assessments, the association’s financial condition, and any violations recorded against your property. HOAs charge a fee to produce it, so build that into your closing budget.
Fair Housing Rules Still Apply Without an Agent
The federal Fair Housing Act applies to you even without a real estate agent. The law prohibits refusing to sell, setting different terms, or misrepresenting availability because of a buyer’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.
There is a narrow exemption for individual owners who sell a single-family home without a broker and who own no more than three single-family houses. That exemption never covers discriminatory advertising. Even if you otherwise qualify, you cannot write a listing that indicates any preference or limitation based on a protected characteristic. A yard sign reading “perfect for young professionals” or a listing describing neighborhood demographics can trigger a complaint. Show the house to everyone who asks, evaluate offers on financial terms, and keep advertising focused on the property.
Prepare the House and Set a Realistic Price
Buyers browsing online form an impression in seconds. Declutter, remove personal items, and fix the obvious stuff: dripping faucets, cracked tiles, peeling paint. These repairs cost little and prevent buyers from mentally subtracting thousands from any offer. Professional photography is worth paying for. Listings with high-quality images consistently pull more clicks and showings than phone snapshots.
Pricing is where FSBO sellers most often stumble. Price too high and the listing sits, then sells for less than a realistic starting point would have produced. Price too low and you leave money on the table. A comparative market analysis looks at recent sales of similar homes nearby, adjusting for square footage, lot size, condition, and features. County appraisal district records, MLS data available through flat-fee listing services or public aggregators, and recent sale prices on sites like Zillow all feed the analysis. If you are uncertain, an independent appraiser typically costs a few hundred dollars and gives you a defensible number.
Get the Listing in Front of Buyers
The single most effective marketing move is getting your listing onto the MLS. The MLS feeds virtually every major real estate search site, so one entry reaches far more buyers than posting individually on FSBO platforms. Several Texas companies offer flat-fee MLS listing services that put your property on the MLS for a one-time charge instead of a percentage commission.
Beyond the MLS, post on FSBO sites, social media, and neighborhood groups. Write descriptions that highlight concrete features (updated kitchen, fenced yard, proximity to schools) rather than vague adjectives.
For showings, keep the house clean and well-lit, and secure valuables and personal documents before each visit. A lockbox lets buyer’s agents show the property on their schedule, which increases showing volume without requiring you to be present each time. Follow up afterward for feedback.
Decide Whether to Offer Buyer’s Agent Compensation
Following the 2024 NAR settlement, the rules changed. Sellers and their representatives can no longer advertise buyer-agent compensation in the MLS, and buyers must sign a written agreement with their agent disclosing how the agent will be paid before touring homes.
You are not legally required to offer a buyer’s agent anything. But many buyers work with agents who expect to be paid, and refusing to contribute can narrow your buyer pool. Some buyers will ask you to cover their agent’s fee as part of the negotiation, either directly or folded into the price as a seller concession. If you do offer compensation, communicate it to buyer’s agents directly rather than through the MLS listing. Skipping all commissions is the main financial advantage of selling by owner, but it only works if enough unrepresented buyers find your listing.
Evaluate Offers and Handle the TREC Contract
When offers come in, look past the headline price. Weigh the earnest money amount, the proposed closing date, financing contingencies, inspection contingencies, and any special conditions. A slightly lower offer from a buyer with strong financing and few contingencies can be worth more than a higher offer loaded with escape clauses.
Earnest money in Texas typically runs 1% to 3% of the purchase price and is usually held by the title company in escrow until closing. Whether the buyer or seller keeps it if the deal falls through depends on the reason for termination and the contract terms. For financed offers, ask for a lender pre-approval letter; for cash offers, request a proof-of-funds letter.
Texas uses standardized contract forms created by the Texas Real Estate Commission. The most common for a home sale is the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), available for free download on the TREC website. TREC’s own guidance warns that these forms are designed primarily for licensed agents trained in their use, and that mistakes can result in financial loss or an unenforceable contract. If you have never filled out a TREC contract, hire a real estate attorney to review it before both parties sign. An attorney can also draft any addenda or special provisions the standard form does not cover.
Most offers include contingencies. A financing contingency lets the buyer walk if their mortgage falls through. An inspection contingency allows the buyer to renegotiate or terminate based on the inspector’s findings. An appraisal contingency protects the buyer if the home appraises below the contract price. If the appraisal comes in low, you can reduce the price, ask the buyer to make up the gap in cash, or let the deal collapse. While your home is under contract, you can also accept backup offers, which activate only if the primary deal falls apart.
Budget for Closing Costs
Avoiding a listing commission does not avoid closing costs. Several categories of expense still come out of your side.
Title Insurance
Title insurance premiums in Texas are regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance, so every title company charges the same rate for the same coverage. The premium is calculated from the sale price using a published schedule. For homes above $100,000, the formula starts at a base premium of $832 and adds $5.27 per $1,000 of value above that threshold. On a $300,000 home, the owner’s title policy runs roughly $1,886; on a $400,000 sale, about $2,413. Who pays for the owner’s policy is negotiable, though local custom varies across Texas markets. The premium covers the title search, examination, and closing services.
Property Tax Prorations
Texas property taxes are billed for the calendar year but typically not due until the fall. If you close before the tax bill arrives, you owe the buyer a prorated credit covering your share of taxes from January 1 through the closing date, and the buyer pays the full bill when it comes due. The amount is usually estimated from the prior year’s taxes or the current year’s appraised value times last year’s rate, then adjusted once actual bills are available.
Other Costs to Expect
- Escrow or settlement fee charged by the title company for handling the closing, typically split with the buyer.
- County recording fees for the deed and other documents, varying by county.
- Mortgage payoff, including any accrued interest. Check whether your loan has a prepayment penalty.
- HOA transfer and estoppel fees if your property is in an association.
- A current survey, if the buyer or title company requires one. The cost of producing it is negotiable.
Closing Day and Wire Fraud Precautions
Closing in Texas is handled by a title company acting as a neutral third party. Texas does not require an attorney at closing, but having one available is wise for a FSBO transaction with no agent guiding you through the paperwork. The title company conducts the title search to confirm the property is free of liens, prepares the closing documents, collects and distributes funds, and records the deed. Before closing, the buyer will typically do a final walk-through.
On closing day, you sign the deed transferring ownership along with the settlement statement detailing every charge and credit on both sides. The buyer signs loan documents if financing is involved. Once everything is signed and funds are verified, the title company disburses proceeds to you and records the new deed with the county clerk.
Wire fraud targeting real estate closings has become common. Criminals hack email accounts and send fake wiring instructions that redirect funds to their own accounts. Before you wire anything or send bank details for receiving proceeds, verify the wiring instructions by calling the title company at a phone number you already have on file, never a number pulled from an email containing wiring instructions. Check the sender’s email address on every message, and if anything looks off, call before you act. Once funds land in a fraudulent account, recovery is rare.
Federal Tax on the Profit
If you sell your primary residence at a profit, the IRS lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain from your income as a single filer, or up to $500,000 filing jointly. To qualify, you must have owned and lived in the home as your main residence for at least two of the five years before the sale, and you cannot have claimed this exclusion on another home sale within the past two years. For joint filers, only one spouse needs to meet the ownership requirement, but both must meet the residency requirement.
Profit above those thresholds is taxed as a capital gain. Texas has no state income tax, so nothing is owed to the state on your sale proceeds. If your gain falls within the exclusion limits, you generally do not need to report the sale on your federal return. If you do not meet the ownership or residency tests, a partial exclusion may still be available if you sold because of a job change, a health condition, or another qualifying circumstance; IRS Publication 523 walks through the rules and calculations.