Texas and Fort Worth

How a Fort Worth Purchase Fits Together

QUICK SUMMARY

A Fort Worth purchase is a Texas contract, a local appraisal district, a stack of local property taxes, and a mortgage from a lender licensed to take the application. The pieces are often blamed on each other. The contract is TREC's, negotiated by the parties. The taxes are the taxing units in that city and county. The loan follows the program. The title company closes it. Knowing which piece is which is most of the confusion.

A Fort Worth purchase follows a Texas sequence: get preapproved, make an offer on the TREC contract, pay earnest money and the option fee, use the option period for inspections and due diligence, finish the loan and appraisal, and close at a title company. Along the way, three different systems touch the house: the lender, the title company, and the appraisal district that sets the value for property taxes. There is no single "Texas mortgage." There is a Texas contract, Texas title insurance, Texas property tax rules, and whichever loan program fits you.

Step by step

Preapproval. A lender reviews your credit, income and assets and issues a preapproval letter. See getting preapproved.
Offer and contract. For a resale house, your agent writes the offer on the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (TREC No. 20-19). Financing terms go on the Third Party Financing Addendum (TREC No. 40-11).
Earnest money and option fee. You deliver these on the contract's deadlines. Earnest money usually goes to the title company. See earnest money.
Option period. This is when you inspect, get insurance and flood quotes, read the HOA resale certificate, and decide. See the option period.
Loan processing. The lender orders the appraisal, verifies documents and underwrites the file.
Title work. The title company searches title, issues a commitment, and prepares for closing.
Closing Disclosure. You receive it at least three business days before closing (12 CFR 1026.19(f)).
Closing and funding. You sign, the lender funds, the title company disburses, and the county records the deed.
After closing. File your homestead exemption with the appraisal district once you own and live in the home.

Who does what

Your agent writes and negotiates the contract.
The lender underwrites the loan and orders the appraisal used for loan-to-value.
The title company holds funds, handles title insurance and conducts the closing.
The appraisal district sets the value used for property taxes. In Tarrant County, that is the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD). Some Fort Worth addresses are in Denton, Parker, Johnson or Wise County, which have their own districts. City limits and county lines do not always match a subdivision name.

Property taxes are the big Texas variable

Texas has no state property tax, but local taxing units, such as the county, city, school district and special districts, levy property taxes that are a major part of the payment (Texas Comptroller). The seller's bill may reflect exemptions and caps that do not transfer to you. See Texas property taxes.

Which loan program

FHA, conventional, VA and USDA each fit different buyers. USDA depends on the property's location on USDA's map, and many addresses inside Fort Worth city limits are not eligible. That is a map fact you can check on the USDA eligibility site. Down payment assistance from TSAHC or TDHCA is also a state option for many buyers, with its own rules.

Fictional example

Fictional example: a buyer relocating to Fort Worth asks for "the Texas program." The answer is four things: the TREC contract their agent will use, the homestead exemption they can file after moving in, the state-set title insurance rates, and whichever loan program fits their credit, income and property. The buyer gets preapproved, writes an offer with a 7-day option period, inspects and gets insurance quotes in that window, and closes about a month later at a Fort Worth title office.

Common mistakes

Waiting to get insurance quotes until after the option period.
Budgeting from the seller's tax bill.
Assuming every Fort Worth address is in Tarrant County.
Making big credit or job changes while under contract.

To estimate your total, see figuring cash to close.

Next step

If you are starting a Fort Worth search, a preapproval with realistic Tarrant County taxes and insurance is the best first step. Book a call, or start an application.

Sources

Links checked Oct 21, 2026.

TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-19, Paragraphs 5, 13 and 23 (form dated May 4, 2026): https://www.trec.texas.gov/forms/one-four-family-residential-contract-resale
TREC Third Party Financing Addendum, TREC No. 40-11 (form dated Nov 4, 2024, effective Jan 3, 2025): https://www.trec.texas.gov/forms/third-party-financing-addendum-0
Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Basics (checked Oct 21, 2026): https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/basics.php
Tarrant Appraisal District, home page (current): https://www.tad.org/
USDA Income and Property Eligibility site, map and income limits (live tool, checked Oct 21, 2026): https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do
CFPB Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.19(e) and (f) Loan Estimate, Closing Disclosure, tolerances and changed circumstances (current text): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1026/19/

About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.

Equal Housing Opportunity.

Last reviewed: Oct 2026

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