Can you sell land in Texas without a contract?

Answer 1

If the buyer gives you money, and you give the deed to the buyer, you've sold the land. Technically, a contract existed in that case, it simply wasn't written, and was fully performed by both parties when the sale took place.

However, if you want to agree in advance to sell land in any U.S. state, you do need a written record of the agreement for the agreement to be enforceable, under the Statute of Frauds.

Suppose you simply say to the buyer "I'll sell you my land on [date] for X dollars" and the buyer says "Agreed"

If this were an agreement for the sale of goods or services, that verbal agreement would be enough to bind both parties legally, and either one would be able to sue the other for breach of contract if he backed out.

However, that would not be a binding contract for the sale of land, because it's not in writing, and either party would be able to back out of the agreement, and the other one wouldn't have recourse. There are exceptions however, such as if one party had already begun performance (the buyer paid, or the seller transferred the deed to the buyer, for example). In that case, the other party would not be able to back out because it would result in him getting something for nothing.

As a general rule, however, contracts for the sale of land must be in writing to be valid, and should probably be drawn up by a lawyer, to avoid any serious pitfalls.