Eisenhower Park: From Army Land to Public Parkland in San Antonio By Trey Wilson, Real Estate, Land Use and Water Lawyer – San Antonio, TX Just south of Camp Bullis, in the southernmost fringes of Hill Country brush and limestone escarpments, sits Eisenhower Park —...
Exempt Groundwater Wells in Texas: What Landowners Need to Know By Trey Wilson, Real Estate and Water Law Attorney | San Antonio, TX If you’re a Texas landowner with access to groundwater, you may have heard the term “exempt well.” But what does it really mean? And...
How Long Is a Surveyor Liable for Errors in Their Work? By Trey Wilson, Real Estate Attorney | San Antonio, TX The Short Answer: It Depends on the Legal Claim Texas law allows a few possible routes to sue a surveyor, and each has its own time limit (known as a...
Drilling a Water Well in Texas: Legal and Practical Considerations By Trey Wilson, Real Estate and Water Lawyer – San Antonio, TX Introduction Drilling a water well in Texas can provide long-term water security for rural landowners, agricultural operations,...
UNDERSTANDING THE GROUNDWATER FORMATIONS UNDERLYING SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS In South Central Texas, water law starts with geology. The aquifer beneath your land determines whether your water is fresh, brackish, or even legally usable—and it can make or break a real estate...
What San Antonio Property Owners and Professionals Need to KnowBy Trey Wilson, San Antonio Real Estate LawyerAs a real estate lawyer based in San Antonio, I closely monitor the legal shifts that affect property owners, developers, and professionals in our region....
WHAT IS A ZONING CONTINGENCY? A zoning contingency is a provision in a real estate contract that conditions the obligations of one party (usually the buyer) upon successful modification to the property's zoning designation. Zoning contingencies are frequently used...
The Texas Legislature is seeking assistance from the United States government in its efforts to secure delivery of water owed by Mexico under a decades old treaty. This week, both the Texas House and Texas Senate saw concurrent resolution filings urging the U.S State...
WHAT IS A "LANDLOCK"? In real estate, the term "landlocked" refers to the circumstance where a piece of property has no legal access to a road or highway. To be truly "landlocked" a property must literally have no means of access, regardless how circuitous or...
A Bill filed in the Texas House of Representatives seeks to add new sections to the written Disclosures that the Seller of residential property must furnish to buyers. This notice, called the "Seller's Disclosure Notice" is already required under Section 5.008 of the...
OLD NEWS IS NEW TO ME I realize that the title to this post reads like a tabloid headline, but this story is old news. REALLY old. Thousands of years old, in fact. But it's new to me, and maybe to You, Today (2/9/25 - Super Bowl Sunday) is the first time I...
Some Legislators appear to want Big Brother at the closing table when Texans buy and sell real estate. I don't like the idea one bit. A bill filed this week by state representative Janis Holt (R - Silsbee) proposes to require the parties to real estate purchase and...
A bill introduced on February 3, 2025 by Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D- Austin) would restrict investment firms from from entering into executory contracts to purchase single family homes during the first thirty (30) days that the property is listed for sale. The measure, HB...
INCREASE IN LANDOWNER-SELLERS' DESIRE TO RETAIN GROUNDWATER RIGHTS BY EXCLUDING THEM FROM SALE As prolonged drought and population explosion persists in Texas, groundwater and the right to produce it are becoming increasingly valuable components of Texans' bundle of...
INTRODUCTION TO THE UERA For years now, a group of interested parties including attorneys have made a nationwide push to adopt a uniform procedure providing for the relocation of some easements. I learned in a recent Bar Association meeting that the initiative to...
CURRENT LAW - THE LSIPA (2021) In 2021, the the Eighty-seventh Texas Legislature adopted the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act in order to prohibit “contracts or other agreements with certain foreign-owned companies in connection with critical infrastructure in...
The Texas Legislature has just begun its 89th Session, and proposed legislation has already been introduced to limit the ability of Texas property owners' associations to impose fines for dried or browning vegetation during drought periods. House Bill 359 by Rep....
INTRODUCTION In an Opinion issued on December 12, 2024, Texas' 11th Court of Appeals out of Eastland, Tx. upheld the trial court's dismissal of landowners' claims that the visual appearance of a neighboring windfarm project constituted a nuisance. According to the...
TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FAVORS AGRICULTURE Texans are fond of saying that the Lone Star State is "Open for Business." This tag line is often used by politicians to signify that Texas laws promote business and are welcoming for companies who desire to operate here....
Our client owns a shopping center, and was accused of flooding a neighboring property in violation of Chapter 11 of the Texas Water Code. The Plaintiff also claimed trespass by entry of water onto their land. We filed a Motion for Summary Judgment seeking dismissal on...
HOW IS THE GROUNDWATER ESTATE CHARACTERIZED RELATIVE TO LAND? The Texas Supreme Court has stated that percolating water is a "part of, and not different from, the soil" and the landowner is the "absolute" owner of it. Houston & T.C. Ry. Co. v. East, 98 Tex. 146,...