I've seen it happen more times than I care to count. A subcontractor finishes their scope of work on an Austin commercial project, invoices for their retained funds, and then waits. Thirty days pass. Sixty days. The general contractor keeps saying the owner hasn't released funds yet. By the time the subcontractor walks into my [...]
Fraudulent deed recording in Texas is no longer a fringe crime targeting vacant land or absentee owners. It is happening to occupied homes, active investment properties, and commercial real estate across Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties. Someone files a false deed at the county clerk's office, and on paper, your property changes hands without your [...]
Every month, I talk with business owners who just discovered they've been filing complex commercial disputes in the wrong court. They chose a general district court out of habit - or because no one told them there was a better option. By the time they reach my office, the case is moving in a direction [...]
Texas SB 15 lot size requirements took effect September 1, 2025, and the number that most people cite - 3,000 square feet - is wrong. The actual minimum under the law is 1,400 square feet. That distinction matters enormously for anyone trying to underwrite a deal, plan an infill project, or understand what this legislation [...]
I'll never forget the call I got on a Wednesday morning from a restaurant owner in South Austin. His business partner had died suddenly over the weekend. No warning. No goodbye. Just gone. "We never got around to the paperwork," he told me. "We trusted each other. We were like brothers." What I had to [...]
A tech startup founder in East Austin called me last month with a problem that's becoming all too common. His business partner had been siphoning money into side projects, making unauthorized loans to friends, and blocking every strategic decision the company needed to make. The LLC was paralyzed. Revenue was tanking. And the operating agreement [...]