Texas TREC Real Estate Forms: Resale Contract, Addenda, and Disclosures

Texas TREC real estate forms are the standardized contracts and addenda the Texas Real Estate Commission publishes for residential transactions, and you can download every one of them free at trec.texas.gov. To use them correctly, pick the promulgated contract that matches your transaction, gather the property and financial details before you open the PDF, fill in every blank (using “N/A” where a field does not apply), attach the addenda the deal requires, deliver the seller’s disclosure on time, and get the fully signed package to the escrow agent so the effective date is clear.

Where to Download the Forms

All TREC contract forms are public records available at no cost from the contracts section of the TREC website at trec.texas.gov/agency-information/contracts. Forms are grouped by type: promulgated contracts, addenda, resale certificates, and notices.1Texas Real Estate Commission. Contracts Each listing shows the form name, form ID, and effective date. Click the form name to download the PDF.

Every TREC form carries a form ID number and an effective date, and the commission periodically revises forms to reflect legislative changes and consumer-protection updates. Confirm you have the current version before drafting; an outdated form can create enforceability problems at closing.

Most agents fill the forms out through transaction management software that populates the same TREC templates electronically, but the downloadable PDFs work for anyone, including buyers and sellers in a for-sale-by-owner deal.

Choose the Right Contract

TREC has six promulgated residential contracts, and the one you use depends on what is being sold:

  • One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) (20-18) — resale houses, duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. This is the workhorse form and by far the most common.
  • New Home Contract (Completed Construction) (24-19) — a newly built home that is already finished.
  • New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction) (23-19) — a home still under construction.
  • Farm and Ranch Contract (25-16) — rural property with agricultural land, water rights, or mineral interests.
  • Residential Condominium Contract (Resale) (30-17) — condominium resales.
  • Unimproved Property Contract (9-17) — vacant land with no residential structures.
1Texas Real Estate Commission. Contracts

For a licensee, using one of these forms is mandatory under 22 TAC 537.11 when a TREC form exists for the transaction.2Legal Information Institute. 22 Tex. Admin. Code 537.11 – Use of Standard Contract Forms Commercial sales fall outside the promulgated set.

What to Gather Before You Start

Sitting down with a blank contract and hunting for details mid-draft is where mistakes happen. Pull the following first.

Party Names

The full legal names of every buyer and seller, exactly as they appear on government-issued identification. If a business entity is on either side, you need its legal name as registered with the Texas Secretary of State, the entity type, and the name of the person authorized to sign.

Legal Description of the Property

A street address is not enough. The contract requires the property’s legal description: the lot, block, and subdivision name from county records, or a metes-and-bounds description for rural land.3Texas Law Help. Property Deed Basics Get it wrong and the contract may describe the wrong parcel. Pull it from the most recent deed or from the county appraisal district records.

Financial Terms

Know the sales price, the earnest money amount, and how the purchase will be financed. Earnest money in Texas residential deals is negotiable; around 1% of the purchase price is a common starting point in many markets, and competitive situations can push it higher. Also know the cash portion of the down payment versus the financed amount, and whether the buyer is seeking conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, or Texas Veterans financing, because each loan type triggers a different section of the Third Party Financing Addendum.

Completing the Resale Contract

Form 20-18 is the contract you are most likely to fill out. Here is how the major sections work.

Property and Parties (Paragraphs 1-2)

Enter the legal names of the parties and the full property details: street address, city, county, zip code, and legal description. If the legal description is too long for the blank, attach it as an exhibit and reference the exhibit here.

Sales Price and Financing (Paragraph 3)

Enter the total sales price, then break it into cash at closing, the sum of any financing described in addenda, and the earnest money credited toward the purchase. The numbers must add up. An arithmetic mismatch creates problems at closing.

Earnest Money and Option Fee (Paragraph 5)

Specify the earnest money amount, the escrow agent’s name and address, and the deadline for delivery. The default is three days from the effective date. If the buyer wants an option period, and most do, fill in both the option fee and the number of days. The option fee is a separate, negotiated payment to the seller for the unrestricted right to terminate during the option period for any reason. If no dollar amount is entered or the buyer fails to deliver the option fee on time, the buyer loses the right to terminate under this paragraph.4Texas Real Estate Commission. We Are Selling Our House and the Buyer Never Paid the Option Fee Buyers commonly use the option period to have the property inspected and negotiate repairs.

Property Condition and Exclusions (Paragraphs 6-7)

Paragraph 6 covers the condition of the property and identifies items that convey with the sale: fixtures, built-in appliances, window treatments, and similar items. Anything the seller wants to keep, such as a chandelier or a wall-mounted television, must be listed explicitly as an exclusion. Vague language invites disputes on move-in day. Paragraph 7 covers seller repairs and treatments and sets the terms for how and when they must be completed before closing.

Addenda and Other Terms (Paragraphs 11-12)

Check the box for every addendum attached to the contract. Paragraph 12 is the space for additional negotiated terms. A licensee can insert factual statements and business details here but cannot draft legal provisions; that crosses into the unauthorized practice of law.

Handle Every Blank

Every blank on the form should contain either the requested information or “N/A.” Leaving a field empty creates ambiguity about whether it was overlooked or intentionally skipped, and that ambiguity can undermine the enforceability of the provision.

Addenda You May Need

Most residential deals require at least one addendum stapled to the main contract. Each is a separate TREC form with its own form ID.

  • Third Party Financing Addendum (40-11), required whenever a lender is funding any portion of the purchase. Select the loan type (conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Texas Veterans, or reverse mortgage) and fill in the loan amount, maximum interest rate, and loan term. The addendum sets deadlines for property approval and credit approval, giving the buyer a defined window to terminate and recover earnest money if financing falls through.5Texas Real Estate Commission. Third Party Financing Addendum
  • Addendum for Property Subject to Mandatory Membership in a Property Owners Association (36-10), used when the property is in a neighborhood with a mandatory HOA. It gives the buyer the right to receive and review the association’s governing documents and financial information.6Texas Real Estate Commission. Addendum for Property Subject to Mandatory Membership in a Property Owners Association
  • Seller Financing Addendum (26-8), used when the seller is carrying all or part of the financing instead of a third-party lender.
  • Addendum for “Back-Up” Contract (11-8), used when making an offer on a property already under contract, positioning the buyer as next in line if the first deal falls through.
  • Short Sale Addendum (45-2), required when the seller’s lender must approve the sale because the property is worth less than what the seller owes.

If the parties change terms after signing, use the Amendment to Contract (Form 39-10). Adjusted closing dates, revised repair requests, and price reductions all require a written amendment signed by all parties.

Disclosures That Ride Along

Seller’s Disclosure Notice

Texas Property Code Section 5.008 requires the seller of a residential property with no more than one dwelling unit to give the buyer a written notice describing the property’s condition, covering structural components, roof, plumbing, electrical systems, environmental hazards, and other known defects.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code 5.008 – Sellers Disclosure of Property Condition The seller completes it to the best of their knowledge and signs it.

Timing matters. The disclosure must reach the buyer on or before the effective date of the contract. If the seller does not deliver it before signing, the buyer can terminate the contract for any reason within seven days of receiving the notice.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code 5.008 – Sellers Disclosure of Property Condition

Several transfer types are exempt: foreclosure sales, transfers by a bankruptcy trustee, transfers between co-owners or family members, transfers to or from a government entity, and sales of new construction that has never been occupied. The seller also has no duty to disclose whether a death occurred on the property or whether a previous occupant had a communicable disease.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code 5.008 – Sellers Disclosure of Property Condition

Lead-Based Paint (Homes Built Before 1978)

For any home built before 1978, the seller must disclose known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards and provide any available inspection reports. The buyer also gets a 10-day window, unless the parties agree to a different period, to conduct a lead inspection before becoming obligated under the contract.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property The TREC contract has a checkbox for attaching the lead-based paint addendum. Skip it on a pre-1978 home and you have a federal violation.

FIRPTA Withholding (Foreign Sellers)

When the seller is a foreign person or entity, the buyer is generally required to withhold 15% of the amount realized on the sale and remit it to the IRS under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. A reduced 10% rate applies if the buyer intends to use the property as a residence and the sales price does not exceed $1,000,000. No withholding is required if the buyer will use the property as a residence and the price is $300,000 or less.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1445 – Withholding of Tax on Dispositions of United States Real Property Interests The title company usually handles FIRPTA compliance, but the legal obligation falls on the buyer, so confirm the seller’s status early.

Signing, the Effective Date, and Delivery

Once every blank is filled and every addendum attached, every buyer and every seller must sign the signature page. Texas recognizes electronic signatures as legally equivalent to ink signatures under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, so DocuSign, Dotloop, and similar platforms are fine.10State of Texas. Texas Code Business and Commerce Code 322.007 – Legal Recognition of Electronic Records, Electronic Signatures, and Electronic Contracts

Signing alone does not start the clock. The effective date is the date the last party to sign communicates acceptance to the other party or that party’s agent, and every performance deadline in the contract (option period, title objections, closing) runs from that date. Fill in the effective date box once you know which day final acceptance was communicated. The contract is still binding if a broker forgets to fill in the blank, but leaving it empty makes tracking deadlines unnecessarily difficult.

After execution, deliver the fully signed contract to the escrow agent or title company so they can open the title commitment process, order the survey if needed, and coordinate with the lender. Delays in getting the signed contract to the title company compress every deadline that follows.

Deadlines After the Effective Date

The effective date triggers a cascade of deadlines. Miss any of them and it can cost you money or the deal.

  • Earnest money and option fee: due to the escrow agent within three days of the effective date. If the option fee is not delivered on time, the buyer loses the unrestricted right to terminate during the option period.4Texas Real Estate Commission. We Are Selling Our House and the Buyer Never Paid the Option Fee
  • Option period: the negotiated window (commonly 7 to 10 days, though the number is entirely up to the parties) during which the buyer can terminate for any reason. Most buyers schedule a professional inspection during this window and negotiate repairs through an amendment.
  • Third-party financing deadlines: the financing addendum sets a credit-approval deadline measured in days from the effective date. If the buyer cannot get approved, written termination notice must go out by that deadline to recover earnest money.
  • Title commitment review: the seller must furnish a title commitment, and the buyer has a set number of days to object to any title defects.
  • Closing: the contract specifies a closing date. If either party cannot close and no extension is signed, the other party may have grounds to terminate or pursue remedies under the default provisions.

Keep a calendar with every deadline counted from the effective date. Your agent or title company should be tracking these too, but the obligation to perform on time belongs to the buyer or the seller.