We are not attorneys and this is not legal advice. What follows is our understanding of lis pendens based on our experience in real estate transactions. If you’re dealing with a lis pendens on your property, consult a real estate attorney.
What Is a Lis Pendens?
Lis pendens is Latin for “pending lawsuit.” In Texas real estate, it’s a notice filed in the county records that tells the world there’s a lawsuit involving this property. Anyone who searches the title will find it — buyers, lenders, title companies — and it effectively tells them to proceed with caution or not at all.
A lis pendens doesn’t mean you’ve lost a lawsuit. It means someone has filed one. But the practical effect on your ability to sell is significant.
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▼Situations Where We’ve Seen a Lis Pendens Come Up
These are the kinds of scenarios we’ve encountered in transactions:
Divorce. One spouse files a lis pendens to prevent the other from selling the marital home during divorce proceedings.
Contract disputes. A buyer who believes a seller breached a purchase contract files a lis pendens to prevent the seller from selling to someone else while the dispute plays out.
Boundary disputes. A neighbor who claims part of your property files a lis pendens to protect their claim while the matter is litigated.
Lien disputes. A contractor or creditor who believes they have a claim on the property files a lis pendens to enforce it.
Inheritance disputes. Heirs who disagree about who owns a property file competing claims and a lis pendens to prevent a sale until the court decides.
How It Affects Your Sale
The practical impact is straightforward: most title companies won’t issue title insurance on a property with an active lis pendens. Without title insurance, most buyers can’t get a mortgage and won’t close. The property is effectively frozen.
Even if you find a cash buyer willing to close without title insurance, the lis pendens means they’re buying a property with a known legal dispute — which affects the price, if they’ll do it at all.
A lis pendens also shows up on any title search, so buyers and their agents will see it immediately.
Getting It Resolved
Resolving a lis pendens means resolving the underlying lawsuit. From what we’ve seen, that can happen several ways — the case gets settled, dismissed, or decided. Sometimes the party who filed it withdraws it as part of a negotiation. In some cases, the court can expunge one that was filed improperly.
All of that is attorney territory. Your real estate agent can help you understand the impact on your transaction, but the legal resolution is between you, your attorney, and the court.
What Sellers Should Know
If a title search turns up a lis pendens on your property, the title company will flag it and the transaction can’t move forward until it’s addressed.
If you’re aware of a pending lawsuit involving your property before you list, tell your agent and your attorney immediately. We can help you understand the timeline implications and what it means for marketing your home, but the legal strategy is your attorney’s call.
Why We’re Careful With This Topic
You might notice we’re careful about how we talk about legal matters like lis pendens. There’s a reason for that — we’re not lawyers, and our advice on legal matters would likely be terrible — because we’re not lawyers. The last thing we want to do is steer a client or even someone just passing through looking for help in the wrong direction. On top of that, TREC (the Texas Real Estate Commission) is strict about agents and brokers giving anything that resembles legal advice, and rightfully so.
That said, we get asked about this stuff because sellers run into it and don’t know where to start. Our role is to point you in the right direction. If we’ve seen a situation like yours before, we can give you a few things to bring up with your attorney — documents to show them, questions to ask, context that helps the conversation get moving faster than walking in cold. Sometimes the most helpful thing we do is say “show your attorney these documents and let them talk.”
We’ll always tell you to seek legal advice first. And we’ll always help you get to the right conversation as quickly as possible.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a lis pendens in Texas?
A lis pendens is a legal notice filed in the county records that a lawsuit has been filed involving a specific property. It warns potential buyers and lenders that the property's ownership or title is in dispute. Your attorney handles the legal response.
Can I sell my house with a lis pendens on it?
It's very difficult. Most title companies won't issue title insurance on a property with an active lis pendens, and most buyers won't close without title insurance. The lis pendens effectively freezes the property until the underlying lawsuit is resolved.
Who handles a lis pendens?
A real estate attorney. A lis pendens is tied to a lawsuit, and resolving it requires legal action — settling the case, getting it dismissed, or asking the court to expunge the notice. Your real estate agent can help identify the issue but the legal work is the attorney's domain.
