We walk Houston commercial buyers through the Texas title commitment and ALTA survey: Schedule B exceptions, easements, deed restrictions and the objection deadline.
The title commitment and the survey often land in the same week, and too often they get read separately. On a Houston commercial purchase, the real value comes from laying them side by side. The commitment tells you what the title company will not insure. The survey shows you where those problems sit on the ground.
Here is how we run that review with buyers on office, industrial, retail and land deals around Greater Houston.
What the Texas commitment is telling you
In Texas, the commitment for title insurance is a form promulgated by the Texas Department of Insurance, and TDI also sets title premium rates. So you are not shopping the premium. You are choosing a title company for its commercial experience and responsiveness. The commitment is the title company's promise to issue a policy, usually the T-1 Owner's Policy, once its conditions are met. Read it in three parts:
- Schedule A. The proposed insured, the policy amount, who currently holds title and the legal description. Confirm the insured name matches your actual buying entity and the legal description matches what you think you are buying.
- Schedule B. The exceptions, meaning the recorded documents and conditions the policy will not cover. This is where most of the work is.
- Schedule C. The requirements that must be satisfied before the policy issues, such as releasing the seller's existing liens, recording documents or showing authority for the selling entity to sign.
Ask for copies of every document listed in Schedule B. A one-line reference tells you little until you read the instrument itself.
Why the ALTA survey matters on commercial property
An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey follows a national standard jointly adopted by the American Land Title Association and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. In Texas it is prepared by a Registered Professional Land Surveyor. The standard requires the surveyor to address the matters in the title commitment, so get the commitment and Schedule B documents to the surveyor early.
The standard also includes Table A, a menu of optional items the buyer or lender selects. Depending on the property, that can include the flood zone classification, land area, building footprint and square footage, parking counts, evidence of utilities, and zoning information if a report is supplied. Decide which items you actually need, and check your lender's list before the order goes out so the survey does not have to be redone.
Reconciling Schedule B against the survey
This is the heart of the review. For each Schedule B exception, the survey should tell you whether it touches the property, where it sits and whether it can be plotted. Around Houston, a few items come up again and again:
- Utility and drainage easements. Common along frontages and rear lot lines. Check whether any run under a building, a loading area or where you plan to expand.
- Pipeline easements. Harris County and the surrounding counties are crossed by pipelines, and older easements are sometimes written as blanket easements with no defined location. Ask the surveyor what was observed in the field and ask the title company whether the easement can be limited to a defined strip.
- Encroachments. Fences, canopies, signs or parking that cross a property line or sit inside an easement.
- Access. Confirm the property touches a public right of way or benefits from a recorded access easement. Shared driveways on retail pads and industrial parks deserve a close look.
The survey may also note the FEMA flood zone as a Table A item. Treat that as a starting point, not a substitute for a separate flood review.
No zoning does not mean no restrictions
Houston has no zoning ordinance, and buyers sometimes take that to mean anything goes. It does not. Recorded deed restrictions can limit use, setbacks, signage and building materials, and they can run with the land for decades. Plat notes and building lines on the recorded subdivision plat also matter. If a deed restriction appears in Schedule B, read it against your intended use, not just the current one. For raw ground, this is a big part of how we screen land and development sites before a buyer commits to engineering.
Mineral severances are common in Texas. If Schedule B excepts a mineral reservation, ask your attorney what surface use rights the mineral owner may hold.
The survey amendment and other coverage questions
The standard T-1 policy contains a printed exception for discrepancies, conflicts or shortages in area or boundary lines, encroachments and overlapping improvements. With an acceptable survey, buyers can usually ask to have that exception amended so it reads only as shortages in area, for an additional promulgated premium. On commercial property that amendment is often worth having. Also ask which promulgated endorsements are available for your deal and what each requires.
Objections run on the contract's clock
Your purchase contract sets the deadline to object to title and survey matters, how long the seller has to cure and what happens if it does not. Missing that deadline usually means accepting whatever is left, so put objections in writing and on time. Coordinating these dates with the rest of the diligence calendar, including the Phase I environmental review, is part of how we manage acquisitions for investors.
Loop in your lender early. The lender will want its own loan policy, may require specific Table A items and survey certifications and may object to an exception you were ready to accept.
This is general information, not legal advice. Bring your real estate attorney, title company and surveyor into each decision.
Talk to us before the objection deadline
If you are buying commercial property in Houston and want a second set of eyes on the title commitment and survey while there is still time to act, reach out to our team.