property

Texas Homestead

The Texas homestead, shields a home from forced sale for most debts with no dollar cap. Area limits are up to 10 acres urban, and rural up to 200 acres for a family or 100 acres for a single adult. Only certain liens can be enforced, such as purchase money, property taxes, owelty of partition, valid refinances, qualifying home improvement and home equity loans, and reverse mortgages. Neither spouse may sell or encumber the homestead without the other's joinder, even if it is separate property.

Exam tip: 'Ten in town, two hundred for the family farm, one hundred for the lone ranger.' A credit-card or business judgment cannot force a homestead sale.
Example: A single owner of a home on 15 urban acres loses a $300,000 lawsuit; the house and 10 acres are protected, but the extra 5 acres may be reachable.

1. Which debt can result in a valid lien enforceable by forced sale of a Texas homestead?

Answer & explanation

Answer: A. The Texas Constitution permits liens on a homestead only for specific debts, such as purchase money, taxes, owelty, qualifying improvement and home equity loans, and refinances. General judgments cannot force a sale.

Related terms & state variants

community property homestead judgment lien nonjudicial foreclosure

Sources

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Last verified: 2026-10-23