(a) A conveyance of real property or an interest in real property or a mortgage or deed of trust is void as to a creditor or to a subsequent purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice unless the instrument has been acknowledged, sworn to, or proved and filed for record as required by law.
(b) The unrecorded instrument is binding on a party to the instrument, on the party’s heirs, and on a subsequent purchaser who does not pay a valuable consideration or who has notice of the instrument.

Terms Used In Texas Property Code 13.001

  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • sworn: includes affirm or affirmed. See Texas Government Code 312.011

(c) This section does not apply to a financing statement, a security agreement filed as a financing statement, or a continuation statement filed for record under the Business & Commerce Code.