Real Estate Attorney in Austin, TX

Austin property deals move fast. Title problems don't announce themselves before closing. Contract language that looks standard can shift serious liability onto you - and by the time you realize it, the option period is gone. If you're buying, selling, leasing, or fighting over property in Central Texas, you need an attorney who works in this space every day, not one who fits real estate in between other things.

Kelly Legal Group handles real estate law for buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, investors, and commercial clients across Austin and Travis County. Contracts, closings, disputes, title issues, commercial leases - the full scope. We're here before the problem shows up, not after.

What Does a Real Estate Attorney Do in Texas?

Texas doesn't legally require attorney representation for real estate transactions. Title companies typically handle closings here. However, the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) recommends consulting an attorney before signing contracts—and for good reason.

Use this quick assessment:

Are you dealing with any of these situations?

• Commercial property purchase or lease ($500K+)
• Title report showing liens or encumbrances
• FSBO (For Sale By Owner) transaction
• Inherited or estate property
• Contract terms you don't fully understand
• Boundary disputes or easement issues

If you answered yes to any: Attorney recommended
If you're a first-time buyer: Attorney strongly recommended
If it's a straightforward residential purchase with clean title: Attorney optional but beneficial

Attorney vs. Title Company vs. Real Estate Agent

Title companies facilitate transactions for all parties—they cannot advocate for you. Real estate agents help you find and market properties but aren't lawyers. Only a licensed attorney can provide legal counsel specific to your transaction and modify contract terms to protect your interests.

Real Estate Legal Services in Austin

Texas real estate law has specific rules, specific deadlines, and specific consequences for getting things wrong. TREC contract forms are standardized, but standardized doesn't mean neutral. Title commitments require a lawyer's eye, not just a title officer's checkbox. The sections below cover what we actually do - organized around who we're doing it for.

For Buyers: Contract Review and Closing Protection

TREC's standard contract forms were written to work for everyone involved in a transaction. Which means they weren't written specifically to protect you. An attorney reviews your purchase agreement before you sign, flags provisions that shift risk in ways you may not have noticed, and negotiates addenda that reflect what you actually agreed to - not what the form defaults to.

Buyer issues we see constantly:

• Financing contingency language that doesn't actually protect you when the loan falls through on day 44 of a 45-day period
• Title defects, liens, and encumbrances that the seller knows about and the title commitment buries in the exceptions
• HOA restrictions that weren't disclosed - including litigation the association is currently defending
• Seller addenda that look routine but waive your rights in ways that matter
• Survey discrepancies the seller's agent mentioned as "minor" that turn out to affect the fence line
• Inherited or estate properties where the ownership chain has gaps nobody cleaned up
• Seller disclosure statements that raise three questions for every one they answer

First-time buyers benefit most from having someone translate what these documents actually say. See our residential real estate services.

For Sellers: Protecting Yourself After the Keys Change Hands

Closing doesn't end your exposure in Texas. Post-closing disputes over undisclosed defects, title issues that surface six months later, or contract language someone interprets differently than you did - sellers deal with these. A real estate attorney drafts your sale agreement to limit what you're on the hook for, reviews buyer offers for provisions that shift risk back to you, and handles title curative work before it kills the deal.

Seller situations that need attorney involvement:

• FSBO deals where you're negotiating directly with a buyer who may have representation you don't
• Short sales and foreclosure-related transactions where lender approval adds layers of complexity
• Estate sales involving multiple heirs, probate, or ownership disputes among family members
• 1031 exchange coordination - the deadlines are tight and the rules are unforgiving
• Seller financing and wraparound mortgages, which create long-term legal exposure if structured wrong

For Landlords: Leases That Hold, Evictions That Stick

An Austin eviction filed without meeting Texas's notice requirements gets dismissed. You start over. Weeks of lost rent, another filing fee, and a tenant who now knows exactly what you did wrong. That's the practical cost of a procedural mistake in landlord-tenant law - and it happens more often than landlords expect.

Beyond evictions, a lease that doesn't cover what happens when a tenant abandons the property, sublets without permission, or causes damage that exceeds the deposit leaves you arguing over terms that should have been in writing. We draft and review leases, handle eviction proceedings from notice to judgment, and deal with the disputes that come after.

Austin landlord services:

• Residential and commercial lease drafting and review - starting from your situation, not a template
• Eviction proceedings and unlawful detainer actions filed correctly the first time
• Security deposit disputes and property damage recovery documentation
• Lease violation notice procedures that preserve your legal position
• HOA compliance review for rental properties in managed communities
• Multi-unit portfolio review for landlords whose lease agreements haven't been updated in years

See our real estate litigation services for how we handle contested disputes.

For Tenants: When Your Landlord Isn't Following the Law

Texas has specific tenant protections. The problem is that most tenants don't know the deadlines that apply, the notices they're entitled to, or when a landlord's conduct crosses from "difficult" into "legally actionable." Wrongful lockouts, failure to return deposits within the statutory window, and ignoring repair requests that affect habitability - these have legal consequences for landlords who don't take them seriously.

Tenant matters we handle:

• Security deposit recovery when a landlord misses the 30-day return deadline or makes deductions they can't justify
• Wrongful eviction defense - particularly when proper notice wasn't served or the grounds don't hold up
• Habitability and repair-and-deduct disputes under Texas Property Code Section 92
• Lease review before you commit to a multi-year agreement with terms you haven't had explained
• Commercial lease disputes where the landlord is asserting rights the contract doesn't actually give them

For Investors: Legal Structure That Protects the Investment

The cheapest real estate deal is often the one that costs you the most. A title problem that wasn't caught in due diligence. An LLC that was set up wrong and doesn't actually shield your other assets. A purchase contract that didn't include protections standard in the market because nobody reviewed it before you signed. These aren't hypothetical risks - they're what happens when legal review is treated as optional.

Real estate investor services:

• Purchase contract drafting and negotiation - including protections that TREC forms don't provide by default
• Entity formation for real estate holding structures that actually separate your liability
• 1031 exchange legal coordination - working with your qualified intermediary to meet exchange deadlines
• REO and distressed property acquisitions where title history requires extra scrutiny
• Title curative work and quiet title actions when the chain of ownership has problems
• Deed transfers between entities and individuals done correctly for tax and liability purposes
• Joint venture agreements for co-investment deals where the terms need to be clear before money moves

When to Hire a Real Estate Attorney in Austin

The Texas home buying process typically unfolds in 8 stages. Here's when attorney involvement provides maximum value: