We Buy Houses in Tarrant County

Barnett Shale minerals show up in title

Tarrant County sits over the Barnett Shale, and urban gas drilling leased large parts of the county in the 2000s. As a result, the mineral estate has been severed from the surface on a great many properties, and oil and gas leases, pooling agreements, and royalty interests appear as exceptions in title commitments.

This rarely stops a sale, but it does affect what is being conveyed and it confuses buyers who have never seen it. A seller does not need to resolve a severed mineral estate before closing — but knowing it exists prevents a surprise late in the file.

Hail and roofs, again

Tarrant County is squarely in the North Texas hail belt, and many roofs here carry multiple claims. Carriers have tightened up with higher wind and hail deductibles, actual-cash-value roof settlements on older roofs, and non-renewals. A roof that cannot be insured makes the house unfinanceable regardless of condition elsewhere.

We buy houses with hail damage in any state: claim paid and work not done, claim denied, repair partly completed, or nothing filed at all.

Two Tarrant Counties

East Fort Worth, Haltom City, Forest Hill, and parts of Arlington have housing from the 1940s through the 1970s — smaller houses, original systems, foundation movement, and a higher share of rentals. Far north Fort Worth, Keller, and the Alliance corridor are newer, with 1990s through 2010s subdivisions, HOAs, and in some areas public improvement districts that add to the tax rate.

Mansfield, Grapevine, and the Mid-Cities in between are their own market again. We buy in all of them and price each property on its own facts.

Tarrant County property we buy

• Post-war houses in east Fort Worth, Haltom City, and Forest Hill
• 1960s and 1970s homes across the Mid-Cities
• Houses with hail-damaged or uninsurable roofs
• Foundation movement, with or without an engineer's report
• Rental houses in Arlington and Fort Worth, tenant occupied
• Homes with severed minerals or active gas leases in the chain
• Vacant houses with code cases or accumulated city charges
• Inherited property held by heirs living out of state

Records and closing in Tarrant County

Fort Worth is the county seat. The Tarrant Appraisal District sets appraised values as of January 1, the county tax assessor-collector bills in October for payment by January 31, and deeds and liens are recorded with the Tarrant County Clerk. Probate matters are handled by the county's probate courts.

A title company closes the sale and records the deed. Expect the commitment to list mineral reservations and any gas leases as exceptions; that is normal here.

Frequently asked questions