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.
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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 16 sources for Granbury under Verifying a builder, a trade or a contract.
Verifying a builder, a trade or a contract
- TDLR — air conditioning and refrigeration contractors: laws and rules
tdlr.texas.gov · The department's laws-and-rules page for the program, citing Texas Occupations Code ch. 1302.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- TDLR — Electrical at a Glance
tdlr.texas.gov · Electricians under Occupations Code ch. 1305 and 16 TAC ch. 73. The sheet read on 2026-09-10 still named the 2023 NEC as current; the state adopted the 2026 edition effective 2026-09-01.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- TDLR — electricians
tdlr.texas.gov · The program page. The Texas Electrical Safety and Licensing Act (Occupations Code ch. 1305) also requires the department to adopt the revised NEC as the state's electrical code.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- TDLR — search and verify licenses
tdlr.texas.gov · The department's public lookup for individuals and businesses, covering every trade it regulates — electricians and air-conditioning contractors included.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- TDLR — the licenses the department administers
tdlr.texas.gov · The department's index of regulated industries. The detailed list loads dynamically and needs a browser.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas Property Code §209.00505 — architectural review and the owner's appeal
texas.public.law · What a written denial from an architectural review authority must contain, and the owner's right to a hearing before the board on a statutory clock.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas Property Code §27.004 — notice, inspection and offer of settlement
law.justia.com · The pre-suit sequence: notice, the contractor's inspection window, and the settlement-offer window.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas Property Code §53.255 — disclosure statement for a residential construction contract
texas.public.law · What the original contractor must deliver to the owner.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas Property Code §53.256 — the subcontractor and supplier list
law.justia.com · The written list of subcontractors and suppliers the owner is owed before construction commences, and the deadline for updating it.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas Property Code §53.258 — the disbursement statement
texas.public.law · Provided to the owner at the time the contractor requests payment.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas Property Code ch. 27 — Residential Construction Liability Act
tcss.legis.texas.gov · The statute that governs a residential construction defect claim.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas State Law Library — construction defects consumer guide
guides.sll.texas.gov · The state library's consumer guide, including the written notice a homeowner must send before filing suit.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas State Law Library — property owners' associations
guides.sll.texas.gov · The state law library's plain-language public guide to chapter 209 and to restrictive covenants under chapter 202.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- Texas Sunset Advisory Commission — Texas Residential Construction Commission
sunset.texas.gov · "The Texas Residential Construction Commission was abolished and the Act expired on September 1, 2009." There is no state license for a homebuilder and no agency regulating one.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- TREC — advertising rules: what you need to know (§535.155)
trec.texas.gov · The commission's own summary of what an advertisement must include.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- Last checked
- TSBPE — consumer information and license search
tsbpe.texas.gov · Plumbing is not TDLR's. The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners is a separate agency; its page carries the search and tells you to verify the responsible master plumber's license number.
- Jurisdiction
- Texas
- 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.