Texas · Property Code §12.017Texas Affidavit as Release of Lien: clearing a paid-off mortgage from the record

When a Texas home sells, the seller's mortgage is paid off at closing, but the lender's release doesn't always get recorded. Texas Property Code §12.017 gives title companies a fallback. It applies to mortgages on property consisting only of a one-to-four-family residence, including a condominium unit, or on other property if the original loan amount was under $1.5 million. An authorized officer of a title insurance company, or a licensed title agent authorized in writing by a recorded instrument, may sign and record an Affidavit as Release of Lien on behalf of the mortgagor or the buyer who acquired the property. The affidavit, in the statutory form, states that the lender provided a payoff statement – the unpaid balance with principal, interest and other charges, plus per-day interest – and that the title company paid the loan in the amount, at the time and to the place the payoff statement required; it must identify the mortgagor, the lender, the mortgage date and its recording information, including any recorded assignment. On or after paying, the title company must notify the lender, at the address where the payment was sent, that it may record the affidavit; without that notice it may not record it. The lender can object by filing its own affidavit controverting the release within 45 days after receiving the notice and mailing a copy to the title company within that period. The affidavit operates as a release of the mortgage once it is executed, recorded and not controverted. Knowingly recording a false affidavit carries the penalties for a false statement, and negligently doing so makes the filer liable for actual damages. The statute doesn't change the lender's own obligation to sign and deliver a release.