Realtor and homeowner resources
The rules, fee schedules and maps that govern building west of Fort Worth — for realtors who need an answer while standing on a lot, and for homeowners doing their own diligence. Every entry links to the authority that publishes it and carries the date we last opened it.
Written for realtors advising a buyer and for homeowners planning a build. Nothing here is gated: no email, no form, no sign-in. Forward any of it, including a filtered view.
Downloads
Print them, or send the link. No email required.
The lot walk: what to look at in the hour you spend on the land
A field sheet for the hour you actually spend standing on a piece of land.
Download the PDF (4 pages, 173 KB): The lot walk: what to look at in the hour you spend on the land
Checked by Dale Proctor ·
The first thirty days after you close on land
Almost every delay at the start of a custom build traces back to something ordered late in the first month — a survey, a soil report, a septic test, a utility application.
Download the PDF (4 pages, 184 KB): The first thirty days after you close on land
Checked by Dale Proctor ·
Three builders, one page: a scorecard for the answers you get
Everyone hands you a list of questions to ask a builder. This is the other half — one page where three builders' answers sit side by side, with what a specific answer sounds like and what a vague one usually means.
Download the PDF (4 pages, 246 KB): Three builders, one page: a scorecard for the answers you get
Checked by Dale Proctor ·
What you pay while you build: the money before the house exists
The build price is the number everyone quotes. The one that surprises people is what leaves the account between closing on the land and moving in — deposits, soft costs, draws, interest on what has been drawn, and the months of paying for somewhere to live at the same time.
Download the PDF (6 pages, 265 KB): What you pay while you build: the money before the house exists
Checked by Dale Proctor ·
The order of decisions: what has to be chosen before what
Nobody tells you that choosing a bathtub is a framing decision, or that the fastest way to lose three weeks is to be undecided about one light switch.
Download the PDF (4 pages, 183 KB): The order of decisions: what has to be chosen before what
Checked by Dale Proctor ·
Showing 6 sources under Impact fees and connection costs.
Impact fees and connection costs
- Benbrook Water Authority — impact fee FAQs
benbrookwater.com · Defines the impact fee and the tap fee separately, and sets out the exemptions — including how an irrigation meter is treated.
- Jurisdiction
- Benbrook · Tarrant County
- Last checked
- Benbrook Water Authority — impact fee schedule
benbrookwater.com · The authority's schedule by meter size, effective 2025-10-01.
- Jurisdiction
- Benbrook · Tarrant County
- Last checked
- Benbrook Water Authority — impact fees page
benbrookwater.com · The authority's landing page, which links the fee schedule effective 2025-10-01. The page itself carries no amounts.
- Jurisdiction
- Benbrook · Tarrant County
- Last checked
- City of Aledo — FY25-26 fee schedule
aledotx.gov · Carries tap, meter and permit fees. Impact fee amounts are not on it: the schedule refers to the Impact Fee Collection Rate Schedule, Ordinance 2022-154 (2022-03-24), whose amounts are not published online. Ask the city in writing.
- Jurisdiction
- Aledo · Parker County
- Last checked
- City of Fort Worth — current water and wastewater impact fees
fortworthtexas.gov · Published by meter size for the period beginning 2025-10-01. Read the amounts at the source; they change by ordinance.
- Jurisdiction
- West Fort Worth · Tarrant County
- Last checked
- City of Fort Worth — how a water impact fee is assessed
fortworthtexas.gov · Fees are assessed on the date the plat was recorded and on the water meter size — so the meter your plumbing designer specifies has a price attached.
- Jurisdiction
- West Fort Worth · Tarrant County
- Last checked
Every entry links to the official page and shows the date it was last checked. Codes and fees change on their own schedules; read them at the source.