LOI template for buying a business or a building in Dallas
Buying a business or a building in Dallas or Fort Worth? Draft your letter of intent here, set to Texas law and US dollars. Texas courts read closely what your letter says about being bound, and what you do after you sign it.
Write your Dallas letter of intent
Start with your first name, email and mobile, and the generator opens. Your terms save as you type, so the draft is still there when you come back. Preset to State of Texas law and US dollars; change anything.
What changes in Dallas
The local facts that change the letter or the cash you need, each checked on its source page on 2026-11-14.
The law on letters of intent in Texas
Texas courts look first at how the letter is drafted and the intent the parties expressed. They normally honor a clearly stated non-binding disclaimer, but a letter that holds all the material terms and a clear intent to be bound may be enforced as a contract even when more formal documents were planned, usually where the parties signed it, began performing and treated it as the governing agreement.1
No new transfer tax on a Texas building
Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution, added on November 3, 2015, says that after January 1, 2016 no law may be enacted that imposes a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property. It still allows a general business tax, a tax on the issuance of title insurance, and a change to the rate of a tax that existed on January 1, 2016.2
SBA loans for buying a business or a building
The SBA 7(a) program lists changes of ownership, complete or partial, and acquiring, refinancing or improving real estate and buildings among its uses, with a maximum loan of $5 million. A standard 7(a) loan, $350,001 to $5 million, carries an SBA guarantee of up to 75%. The SBA 504 program, made by a Certified Development Company together with a senior lender, finances the purchase, construction or renovation of buildings or land and long-term machinery, on 10, 20 or 25 year terms. It cannot fund working capital, inventory, or speculation or investment in rental real estate, so it fits a building your business will use.3, 4, 5
Free local help
The SBA's Dallas / Fort Worth District Office, at 150 Westpark Way, Suite 130, in Euless, serves 72 counties in northeast Texas, including Dallas, Tarrant and Collin.6
The two sample letters, the binding clauses state by state and LOI vs term sheet are on the free LOI template and letter of intent generator page.
What goes in a letter of intent
The generator writes each of these, in this order. The ones marked binding are the customary carve-outs.
| Clause | What it says | Binding? |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | The total price and the adjustments that will be settled in the purchase agreement. | No |
| Structure | How the price is paid: cash at close, seller note, earn-out, rollover equity. | No |
| Financing | How the buyer funds the cash at close, and whether closing depends on getting the loan. | No |
| Deposit | Optional: what is paid on signing the purchase agreement and when it comes back. | No |
| Due diligence | How long the buyer has to review the business or the building, and what the seller opens up. | No |
| Definitive agreement | The purchase agreement both sides will negotiate, and who drafts it. | No |
| Conditions and closing | What has to be true to close, and the target date. | No |
| Transition support | Business only: the seller helps hand the business over after closing, on terms the purchase agreement sets. | No |
| Exclusivity (no-shop) | The seller stops talking to other buyers for a set number of days. | Yes, by default |
| Confidentiality | Both sides keep the terms and the information private. | Yes, by default |
| Expenses | Each side pays its own lawyers and accountants. | Yes, by default |
| Governing law | Which state's or province's law applies. | Yes, by default |
| Non-binding letter | Everything but the named binding sections waits for the purchase agreement, and either side may end talks before then. | Yes |
After the LOI: diligence to close
The signed letter starts the clock. Diligence runs, the lawyers draft the purchase agreement, and the money gets lined up: the lender, any seller note, and the equity that covers the gap the deal check shows.
Lenders ask for the same pack: two years of financials month by month, six months of bank statements, two years of tax returns and personal financial statements. On Cody Sechelski's acquisition, 25 capital providers saw the same data room and the same one-page summary in parallel. 24 said no and one funded.21, 22
The free Raises.com® AI plan builds the capital stack for your deal from one message, and the LOI to close guide shows what gets built between the letter and the wire, and who does each piece.2, 3
Want to talk it through? Book a strategy call with one of the advisors. Book a strategy call
How the generator works
Pick a business or a building
The draft changes with it: a business gets an asset or share purchase, a working capital adjustment and transition support; a building gets title, leases, rent roll and the closing adjustments.
Type the price and how it is paid
Cash at close is worked out for you: the price less the seller note, the earn-out and the rollover.
Set diligence, exclusivity, financing and closing
Choose which sections bind on signing. The rest stays non-binding until the purchase agreement.
Copy, print or download
Download a Word file or a text file, or print to PDF. Then have your own lawyer review it before it goes to the seller.
Dallas letter of intent questions
Is a letter of intent binding in Texas?
It depends on the wording and on what the parties do. Texas courts normally honor a clear non-binding disclaimer, and may enforce a letter that holds all the material terms and a clear intent to be bound, especially once the parties start performing under it. Keep the business terms clearly non-binding, name the sections that bind, and have a Texas lawyer review it.
Can Texas add a transfer tax to buying a building in Dallas?
Not a new one. Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution says that after January 1, 2016 no law may be enacted that imposes a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property. Ask your title company and lawyer for the full list of closing costs on your deal.
Can an SBA loan fund buying a business or a building in Dallas?
An SBA 7(a) loan can fund a change of ownership, which covers buying a business, and the purchase of real estate and buildings, up to $5 million. An SBA 504 loan can fund the purchase of a building or land, but not rental real estate held as an investment.
What is a letter of intent (LOI)?
A letter of intent is a short letter a buyer sends a seller setting out the main terms of a purchase: the price, how it is paid, the due diligence period, exclusivity and the target closing date. Most of it records the deal both sides intend to sign later in a purchase agreement and is written as non-binding. A few sections, usually exclusivity, confidentiality, expenses and governing law, are written to bind as soon as both sides sign.
Is a letter of intent legally binding?
Only the sections it names as binding, if it is written well. The obligation to buy and sell usually binds only once both sides sign the purchase agreement. Courts look at the wording and at what the parties do after signing: in Wallace v. Allen the Court of Appeal for Ontario held a letter of intent binding, in part because it spoke of "this agreement" and the parties acted on it. Use clear non-binding language and have your own lawyer review the letter.
Can you back out of an LOI?
Yes, if the letter is non-binding and says either party may end negotiations before the purchase agreement is signed, as the draft from this generator does. The sections written as binding, such as exclusivity and confidentiality, still bind after you walk away, so keep to them. Check the wording first: a letter that holds every essential term and a clear intent to be bound can be enforced like a contract.
What should an LOI to buy a business include?
The price and how it is paid (cash at close, a seller note, an earn-out, rollover equity, bank or SBA debt), whether it is an asset or a share purchase, a working capital adjustment, the due diligence period and what the seller opens up, the financing condition, exclusivity, the target closing date, transition support from the seller, which sections are binding, and signature lines.
What goes in a commercial real estate LOI?
At least the parties, a description of the property, the price, any earnest money deposit and who holds it, the due diligence period and when it starts, and the closing date. Add the financing condition, the leases and a current certified rent roll, tenant estoppel certificates, title and survey, the closing adjustments for rents, deposits and taxes, exclusivity, which sections bind, and signature lines.
Can I get this LOI template in Word, PDF or Google Docs?
Yes. Download Word builds a .docx file in your browser, Print or save as PDF prints the letter alone, and Download .txt and Copy text give you plain text. For Google Docs, upload the Word file to Google Drive and double-click it to open it in Docs.
Is this LOI generator free?
Yes. There is no account to create and nothing to pay. Enter your first name, email and mobile and the generator opens, and your terms save as you type so you can come back to the draft. Copy it, print it to PDF, or download it as a Word or text file.
What happens after the LOI is signed?
Due diligence starts, the lawyers draft the purchase agreement, and the money gets lined up: the lender, any seller note, and the equity that covers the gap. The Raises.com® LOI to close guide walks through each step, and the free Raises.com® AI plan sizes the capital stack for your deal.
Should a lawyer review my LOI?
Yes. This generator writes a conventional starting draft, not legal advice. The law that governs your deal, the structure, taxes and the binding sections all depend on facts a template cannot see, so have your own lawyer review and edit the letter before you sign or send it.
Sources
- Hendershot Cowart P.C. (Bryan Tehrani), Texas Letter of Intent Guide: When Are LOIs Legally Binding in Business Sales & Acquisitions?, February 16, 2026
- Texas Constitution, Article VIII, Section 29 (Texas Legislature, Texas Constitution and Statutes)
- U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loans
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Types of 7(a) loans (loan amounts and guarantees)
- U.S. Small Business Administration, 504 loans
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Dallas / Fort Worth District Office
General
- Raises.com®, LOI to close: what gets built and who does it
- Raises.com® AI: the free per-deal capital raise plan (closing costs planned at 3% of the price)
- Varnum LLP (Harvey Koning), M&A Letters of Intent: Top Tips for Successful Deals, The National Law Review, September 17, 2025
- Gould & Ratner LLP (Aaron Whyte), Ten Mistakes Buyers Make When Negotiating Letters of Intent in Commercial Real Estate Transactions in Illinois, May 6, 2026
- Raises.com®, Tre Brown on the Top Capital Raiser Show: LOI versus PSA, the lender pack, seller notes and rollover
- Raises.com®, Cody Sechelski case study: the LOI, the 25-provider lender process, the restructure and the wire