Bulletin: TX000051
Dear Associates:
The Texas Legislature passed many bills relating to real estate in 1999. The following are some of the more important bills relating to title insurance.
NEW DISCLOSURES
Seller Disclosure of Annexation (HB 167; Section 5.011, Property Code) Effective
1/1/2000
A seller of la...
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THIS BULLETIN IS FURNISHED TO INFORM YOU OF CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS. AS A REMINDER, YOU ARE CHARGED WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONTENT ON VIRTUAL UNDERWRITER AS IT EXISTS FROM TIME TO TIME AS IT APPLIES TO YOU, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER INSTRUCTIONS. OUR UNDERWRITING AGREEMENTS DO NOT AUTHORIZE OUR ISSUING AGENTS TO ENGAGE IN SETTLEMENTS OR CLOSINGS ON BEHALF OF STEWART TITLE GUARANTY COMPANY. THIS BULLETIN IS NOT INTENDED TO DIRECT YOUR ESCROW OR SETTLEMENT PRACTICES OR TO CHANGE PROVISIONS OF APPLICABLE UNDERWRITING AGREEMENTS. CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY, OR NONPUBLIC PERSONAL INFORMATION SHOULD NEVER BE SHARED OR DISSEMINATED EXCEPT AS ALLOWED BY LAW. IF APPLICABLE STATE LAW OR REGULATION IMPOSES ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS, YOU SHOULD CONTINUE TO COMPLY WITH THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
EXHIBIT 1
NOTICE REGARDING POSSIBLE ANNEXATION
If the property that is the subject of this contract is located outside the limits of a municipality, the property may now or later be included in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality and may now or later be subject to annexation by the municipality. Each municipality maintains a map that depicts its boundaries and extraterritorial jurisdiction. To determine if the property is located within a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction or is likely to be located within a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction, contact all municipalities located in the general proximity of the property for further information.
EXHIBIT 2
NOTICE OF MEMBERSHIP IN PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATION
CONCERNING THE PROPERTY AT (street address)
(name of residential community)
As a purchaser of property in the residential community in which this property is located, you are obligated to be a member of a property owners' association. Restrictive covenants governing the use and occupancy of the property and a dedicatory instrument governing the establishment, maintenance, and operation of this residential community have been or will be recorded in the Real Property Records of the county in which the property is located. Copies of the restrictive covenants and dedicatory instrument may be obtained from the county clerk.
You are obligated to pay assessments to the property owners' association. The amount of the assessments is subject to change. Your failure to pay the assessments could result in a lien on and the foreclosure of your property.
Date:__________ _____________________________________________
EXHIBIT 3
GULF INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY DISCLOSURE
The real property described in this contract is located seaward of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to its southernmost point and then seaward of the longitudinal line also known as 97 degrees, 12', 19" which runs southerly to the international boundary from the intersection of the centerline of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Brownsville Ship Channel. If the property is in close proximity to a beach fronting the Gulf of Mexico, the purchaser is hereby advised that the public has acquired a right of use or easement to or over the area of any public beach by prescription, dedication, or presumption, or has retained a right by virtue of continuous right in the public since time immemorial, as recognized in law and custom.
The extreme seaward boundary of natural vegetation that spreads continuously inland customarily marks the landward boundary of the public easement. If there is no clearly marked natural vegetation line, the landward boundary of the easement is as provided by Sections 61.016 and 61.017, Natural Resources Code.
State law prohibits any obstruction, barrier, restraint, or interference with the use of the public easement, including the placement of structures seaward of the landward boundary of the easement. STRUCTURES ERECTED SEAWARD OF THE VEGETATION LINE (OR OTHER APPLICABLE EASEMENT BOUNDARY) OR THAT BECOME SEAWARD OF THE VEGETATION LINE AS A RESULT OF NATURAL PROCESSES SUCH AS SHORELINE EROSION ARE SUBJECT TO A LAWSUIT BY THE STATE OF TEXAS TO REMOVE THE STRUCTURES.
The purchaser is hereby notified that the purchaser should:
(1)Determine the rate of shoreline erosion in the vicinity of the real property; and
(2)Seek the advice of an attorney or other qualified person before executing this contract or instrument of conveyance as to the relevance of these statutes and facts to the value of the property the purchaser is hereby purchasing or contracting to purchase.
EXHIBIT 4
Exemptions From Plat Approval by County
The owner is exempt from platting by SB 710 (Section 232.0015, Local Government Code if:
- all of the lots of the subdivision are more than 10 acres in area and the
owner does not lay out a part of the tract for use by the public or adjoining
owners;
- the owner does not lay out a part of the tract for use by the public or
adjoining owners if all the lots are sold to veterans through the Veterans'
Land Board program;
- any tract of land belonging to the state or any state agency, board, or
commission or owned by the permanent school fund or any other dedicated funds
of the state unless the subdivision lays out a part of the tract for use by
the public or adjoining owners;
- the owner is a political subdivision of the state and the land is situated
in a floodplain and the lots are sold to adjoining landowners;
- the owner divides the tract into two parts if the owner does not lay out
a part of the tract for use by the public or adjoining owners and one new
part is to be retained by the owner, and the other new part is to be transferred
to another person who will further subdivide the tract subject to plat approval
by the county;
- the owner does not lay out a part of the tract for use by the public or
adjoining owners and all parts are transferred to persons who owned an undivided
interest in the original tract and a plat is filed before any further development
of any part of the tract;
- the owner does not lay out a part of the tract for use by the public or
adjoining owners and the land is to be used primarily for agricultural use,
as defined by Section 1-d, Article VIII, Texas Constitution, or for farm,
ranch, wildlife management, or timber production use within the meaning of
Section 1-d-1, Article VIII, Texas 12 Constitution, so long as the land is
used primarily for agricultural use or for farm, ranch, wildlife management,
or timber production use; or
- the owner divides the tract into four or fewer parts and does not lay out a part of the tract for use by the public or adjoining owners and if each of the lots is transferred to an individual who is related to the owner within the third degree by consanguinity or affinity and is not further transferred to an individual who is not related to the owner within the third degree by consanguinity or affinity.