What You'll Learn
Water rights in Texas operate under a doctrine most agents have never been taught — and the consequences of not knowing the basics show up in due diligence failures, Seller's Disclosure errors, and deals that fall apart when the buyer's attorney asks a question the agent can't answer. This class provides the baseline so you know when to advise further review and what questions to ask before they become problems.
Inside Water Your Rights 1 Hr • Course # TBD
- Surface Water vs. Groundwater — The Fundamental Split — Why Texas treats these two types of water completely differently under law, what "rule of capture" means for groundwater, and why a property that sits next to a river doesn't automatically give the owner the right to use it.
- Water Rights as Property — What Conveys and What Doesn't — How water rights can be severed from surface ownership, what happens when a seller has already sold or transferred water rights on a property, and how to read a title commitment for water-related encumbrances.
- Groundwater Conservation Districts and How They Affect Buyers — What a GCD is, how its rules can restrict a buyer's ability to drill a well on a property they just purchased, and the specific disclosure that agents need to make sure is handled correctly on affected properties.
- What to Disclose and When — The Seller's Disclosure questions that relate to water, how to handle wells and water systems on rural properties, and the situations where "I don't know" is not an acceptable answer and the agent needs to flag the issue for legal review before closing.
- Where Water Issues Kill Deals — The transaction types where water rights problems most commonly surface: farm and ranch, rural residential, acreage subdivisions, and properties near rivers or lakes — and the due diligence steps that catch problems before they become contract disputes.