Guide

Land-sale scams in Texas: the postcard buyers, the fake check, and the deed signed at the kitchen table

Vacant land attracts a particular kind of fraud because nobody is watching it. Most of it is stopped by one habit.

Updated October 2026

The rule

Every legitimate land purchase in Texas closes through a title company (or a real estate attorney acting as closing agent) that verifies the seller's identity, searches title, and disburses funds from escrow. If a buyer wants you to sign a deed in exchange for a check or a wire, or to use a notary they bring to your door, stop.

What's usually happening

The lowball postcard. Not a scam, just an offer, usually a very low one from a mailing list. Treat it as information.
Seller impersonation. A criminal poses as the absentee owner and sells the land to an innocent buyer; the title company's identity checks are the defense. The Texas Department of Insurance guidance is linked below.
The option that never closes. A 'buyer' ties up the land with a long option or contract and shops it; if nobody bites, they walk, and you've lost months. Texas requires a buyer who holds only an equitable interest to tell you so (Property Code 5.086); ask, and keep the contract period short.
The fake check. A cashier's check that bounces after you've signed. Escrow exists so this can't happen.

Also check

The title company named in the contract; call it directly.
A closing date and no blanks in the contract.
The buyer's entity on the Texas Secretary of State's site.

Report suspected fraud to the Texas Attorney General's consumer protection division and local law enforcement.

Questions people ask

A buyer offered to pay cash today if I sign now.

Decline. Real buyers close through a title company in a week or two; urgency with a pen in your hand is the warning sign.

Is a fast closing a red flag?

No; speed is the product. The red flags are about where the money goes and what you sign before closing.

I already signed something.

Call a real estate attorney today. If it was a deed, call now.

How a cash land sale works: The steps of selling Texas land to a cash buyer, what Property Code 5.086 requires a buyer who may assign the contract to disclose, the title company's role, and what 'as-is' means for land.
Cash offer vs. listing with a land broker: When a Texas landowner should take a direct cash offer and when listing with a land broker is the better choice: price, time, cost and the parcels each suits.
What decides what land is worth: The factors a Texas land buyer prices: access, water, utilities, flood zone, minerals, exemptions, restrictions, location, and the few facts that make an offer accurate.
Minerals, pipelines, easements: How severed minerals, oil and gas leases, pipeline easements and lease roads affect a Texas land sale, and what a direct buyer needs to know up front.
Floodplain or wetland: Selling Texas land that's in a FEMA flood zone, has wetland on it, or was damaged by a hurricane or flood: what buyers check and why it still sells as-is.

Sources

Get a written, no-obligation offer on your land within days

You get a call within 24 hours, usually the same day. One Texas land buyer checks the parcel and gives you a written offer with a closing date. No survey, no clean-up, no commission, no fee to you, and no list of companies calling. Buyers in this network typically pay the closing costs; the written offer spells out exactly what they cover.

1. Tell us the county, the kind of land and the situation. Two minutes.
2. You get a call within 24 hours. Your request goes to one Texas land buyer, not to a list.
3. They check the parcel and put the offer in writing. Take it, or take it to a land broker and compare.

Your name

Mobile number

Property address ZIP What's the situation Property type Approximate acres or lot sizeWhen would you like to close? Anything else worth knowing

A cash as-is offer is below full market value. We say that up front because the buyer will too.

Sell My Land DirectIndependent referral service

Plain answers about selling Texas land as-is, anywhere in the state, and one introduction to a land buyer when you want a written offer.

Situations

Guides

Areas

Sell My Land Direct is an independent referral service, not a land buyer, broker, or agent. We don't make offers, hold funds, or handle closings; any offer, contract, and closing are between you and the independent buyer we connect you with, through a title company you choose. That buyer may buy the land or assign the contract, and Texas law requires them to tell you which. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice.