Behind on your house payments in Texas? Know your dates and your options.
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Most Texas home foreclosures do not go to court. They follow set notice steps and end at a public auction on the first Tuesday of a month. Knowing your dates helps you compare every option, including a sale. This guide explains the steps, with links to the law.
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The Texas foreclosure timeline
These are the minimum steps for a home loan with a deed of trust. Your servicer may take longer. Your own notices show your real dates.
1. Missed payments
For most home loans, the servicer generally cannot make the first foreclosure notice or filing until the loan is more than 120 days past due (12 CFR §1024.41(f)). Call your servicer early and ask what help it offers.
2. Notice of default: at least 20 days to catch up
For a home you live in, the servicer must send a notice of default by certified mail and give you at least 20 days to cure the default before it can send a notice of sale (Texas Property Code §51.002(d)).
3. Notice of sale: at least 21 days before the sale
The notice is posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and mailed to you by certified mail at least 21 days before the sale. It states the sale date and the earliest time the sale can start (Property Code §51.002(b)).
4. Sale day: the first Tuesday
Sales are public auctions at the county courthouse, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month. If that Tuesday is January 1 or July 4, the sale moves to the first Wednesday (Property Code §51.002(a)).
Options to compare
Catch up on the loan
Ask your servicer for a written reinstatement amount: what it takes to bring the loan current, and by what date.
Ask your servicer for help
Ask about a repayment plan, forbearance, or a loan modification. Send a complete application as early as you can. If a complete application arrives more than 37 days before a scheduled sale, federal rules generally do not let the servicer hold the sale until it has decided on the application and any appeal is over (12 CFR §1024.41(g)).
Sell before the sale date
A sale can pay off the loan at closing if the price covers the payoff and the closing happens before the foreclosure sale. Get a written payoff and confirm the sale date with your servicer. You can list with an agent or sell directly.
Get advice
A HUD-approved housing counseling agency can go over your choices. Call 800-569-4287 or search on HUD.gov. For a short sale, a deed in lieu, or bankruptcy, talk to an attorney.
Watch for red flags
Be careful with anyone who promises to stop your foreclosure, asks for money up front to save your home, or asks you to sign over your deed before you understand the deal. Get every promise in writing, and check with your servicer or a housing counselor first.
HOA and property tax foreclosures
HOA foreclosure
After a property owners' association forecloses, the owner can usually redeem the property within 180 days after the association mails written notice of the sale (Property Code §209.011).
Property tax foreclosure
After a tax sale, the owner can redeem within 2 years if the property was a residence homestead or agricultural land when the suit was filed, or within 180 days for other property. Redeeming costs the purchase amount plus a premium (Tax Code §34.21).
Compare a direct sale
Selling to Polus is one option. Here is what it can and cannot do. Compare your estimated net.
Plan around your sale date
Request a review now. To help, the sale must close, with the loan paid off, before the foreclosure sale. We cannot promise the servicer will move the date.
We do not stop foreclosures
We buy houses. We do not negotiate with your lender, and a signed contract does not stop a sale. Only your servicer or a court can do that.
As-is
No repairs, cleaning, or staging needed to request a review.
Clear costs
No agent commissions or listing fees. We cover standard closing costs as specified in the offer. The loan payoff, taxes, and liens are paid from the sale.
Selling before foreclosure in Texas
Can I sell my house after I get a notice of sale in Texas?
Often, yes, if the sale closes and the loan is paid off before the foreclosure sale. Confirm the sale date and the payoff amount in writing with your servicer. A signed contract by itself does not stop or delay the sale.
How long does foreclosure take in Texas?
It depends on the loan and the servicer. The law sets minimum steps: for a home, at least 20 days to catch up after a notice of default, then at least 21 days' notice before a first-Tuesday sale (Texas Property Code §51.002). For most home loans, the first foreclosure notice or filing generally cannot come until the loan is more than 120 days past due (12 CFR §1024.41(f)).
Can Polus stop my foreclosure?
No. Only your servicer or a court can postpone or cancel a sale. If we buy the house, the loan is paid off from the sale at closing, and that closing must happen before the sale date.
What if I owe more than the house is worth?
Then a sale may not cover the payoff. Ask your servicer about a short sale, which needs the lender’s approval, and talk to a housing counselor or an attorney.
Does Polus charge fees or commissions?
No agent commissions or listing fees. We cover standard closing costs as specified in the offer. The loan payoff, taxes, and liens are paid from the sale and reduce what you receive.
Is this page legal advice?
No. Polus Acquisitions Group buys houses; it is not a law firm or a housing counselor. This page is general information about Texas law. Talk to an attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor about your situation.
Compare a cash offer before the sale date
Request a free review and compare it with your other options. No obligation. We review houses in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and other areas.
Sources
- Texas Property Code ch. 51: notice and sale rules in §51.002
- Texas Property Code ch. 209: HOA foreclosure and redemption in §209.011
- Texas Tax Code ch. 34: redemption after a tax sale in §34.21
- 12 CFR §1024.41 (CFPB Regulation X): the 120-day rule and loss mitigation applications
- HUD housing counseling: find a counseling agency, 800-569-4287
Checked November 11, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Polus Acquisitions Group buys houses; it is not a law firm or a housing counselor. More reading: options for selling before foreclosure.