RE 358 | URB 351

Introduction to Real Estate and

Urban Land Development

LAND TITLES & CONVEYANCING - PART 2

Title – how do you keep
track of who owns what?
Texas: County Clerk’s Office
Real Property Records
a/k/a
Official Public Records
Place where documents affecting
real property are filed, copied, and
indexed
Record
Title
How do you keep track of the
ownership of the “bundle of
rights” that is real property?
CHAIN OF TITLE = list of
documents that convey the
“bundle of rights” from the
sovereign to the current
owner(s)

General Warranty Deed
John Smith to Fred Jones
Lot 1, Block A, Finebrook
Subdivision
County Clerk pulls the latest Volume
(1403) off the shelf and copies the
Deliver to Travis County
document starting on the Page (205)
Clerk’s Office
after the last document that was
recorded

Grantor Index

Grantor Grantee Volume Page Property

Smith, John Jones, Fred 1403 205 Lot 1 Blk A Finebrook Subd

Grantee Index

Grantee Grantor Volume Page Property

Jones, Fred Smith, John 1403 205 Lot 1 Blk A Finebrook Subd
 Official Public Records = a
Database
Documents are filed (recorded) and given a unique identifier
Physical Books
Used to be by Volume & Page
Warranty Deed recorded in Volume 1958, Page 1031,
Official Public Records of Travis County, Texas
Now most jurisdictions use a sequential numbering system
(often start with 1st 4 digits are the year of recording)
Warranty Deed recorded under Document No.
2013020345 of the Official Public Records of Travis County,
Texas
Travis
County
Clerk File
Stamp
Official Public Records

Documents are then indexed by by the names of

the parties to the document so that the index
can be searched using those names so that the
document can be retrieved in the future
 350 acres
Gary Farmer
1000 acres in Williamson Special Warranty Deed to
1000 acres Cattle Co LLC
County, Texas
Brad Parker Doc No. 2007011495

Chain
John Tibbets
General Warranty Deed to Official Public Records
General Warranty Deed to
Gary Farmer Williamson County, Texas
Brad Parker
Doc No. 2003045636
Doc No. 2000092736
Official Public Records

of
Official Public Records
Williamson County, Texas
Williamson County, Texas
650 Acres
Gary Farmer

Title
Special Warranty Deed to
Landco Development
Doc No. 2007013728
Official Public Records
Williamson County, Texas

Landco subdivides and develops the 650 acres into a mixed use
subdivision and sells commercial lots to office and retail developers and
residential lots to various homebuilders

Special Warranty Deed Special Warranty Deed to Special Warranty Deed Special Warranty Deed to
to Endeavor RE Group Stratus Properties to Newmark Homes Wilson Homebuilders
Travis County
Online Records
Search
Go to
https://www.tccsearch.org/
Click the disclaimer and enter the
site
Search Page
Balcones View
Management
 Search for
Balcones
View
Management
Warranty Deed
Special Warranty Deed
Balcones View Office Bldg.
Special Warranty Deed
Lot 1, Block A, Hollow Canyon, a subdivision in Travis
County, Texas
Infiniti Investors, LLC, Grantor
to
Balcones View Management LLC, Grantee
Recorded under Document No. 2018102548
of the Official Public Records of Travis County, Texas
Survey
Lot 1, Block A,
Hollow Canyon,
a subdivision in
Travis County,
Texas