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Foreclosure in Texas

Most Texas foreclosures happen without a lawsuit, so the notices are your timeline. Here's each one, from the Property Code and the State Law Library.

Type: Mostly non-judicial

Last checked October 26, 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.

Type
Mostly non-judicial. With a power of sale clause, the lender can sell without filing a lawsuit. Judicial foreclosure is rare.
FHA time frame
HUD's time frame for FHA loans: 8 months from the first legal action to clear title and possession.
Sale day
The first Tuesday of the month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
After the sale
A right to redeem exists only for certain kinds of foreclosures, such as some tax lien and property owners' association foreclosures.

How a Texas foreclosure works, step by step

  1. Generally, the legal foreclosure process can't start until you're at least 120 days behind.
  2. If the home is your residence, your servicer must send you a notice by certified mail saying you're in default and giving you at least 20 days to catch up before it can send a notice of sale.
  3. A notice of sale, including the earliest time the sale will start, must be given at least 21 days before the sale date. It comes after the 20-day catch-up period has ended.
  4. The notice is posted at the courthouse door in each county where the property is, filed with the county clerk in each of those counties, and sent by certified mail to each person who owes the debt. The county also posts it on its website, where anyone can see it for free.
  5. The auction is held on the first Tuesday of the month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  6. If the former owner doesn't move out after the sale, the new owner may have to file an eviction case in court. That court decides only who has the right to live in the property, not who owns it.

Home equity loans are different

Under the Texas Constitution, a home equity loan made under section 50(a)(6) can be foreclosed only with a court order. Court Rule 736 is the process a lender uses to get that order, for a home equity loan, a reverse mortgage or a home equity line of credit.

These loans are also without recourse: the owner and spouse aren't personally liable for them, unless they got the loan by actual fraud.

How long it takes

Foreclosure generally can't legally start until you're at least 120 days behind. Once it starts, how long you have until the sale depends on your state.

For FHA loans, HUD's time frame runs from the first legal action until the lender has clear title to the home and possession of it. In Texas, that's 8 months, and the first legal action is posting and filing the notice of sale.

Without a lawsuit, the notices set the pace: at least 20 days to catch up after the default notice, then a notice of sale at least 21 days before the sale.

These are official markers, not a forecast. Your case can move faster or slower, so don't count on extra time.

Deficiency, surplus and redemption

If the home sells at a non-judicial sale for less than you owe, any lawsuit to collect the difference, called the deficiency, must be filed within two years of the sale. If a court finds the home's fair market value was higher than the sale price, you get a credit against the deficiency.

If the home sells for more than is owed, the extra money pays off other liens first, and anything left may be available to you.

After a property owners' association foreclosure sale, the owner can redeem up to 180 days after the association mails written notice of the sale. After a tax sale of a residence homestead to a private buyer, the owner can redeem up to two years after the buyer's deed is filed.

Protections when you sell, lease or get offers

  • If someone buys a homestead for less than its appraised value and leases it back to the seller for more than fair rent, Texas law treats the deal as a loan, not a sale. Taking a deed in that kind of deal is a deceptive trade practice, and the deed is void.
  • The Texas Constitution says any pretended sale of a homestead with a condition for undoing it later is void.
  • Under Texas's contract-for-deed law, a lease combined with an option to buy a home is treated as a contract for deed. A buyer under one can cancel for any reason with signed written notice no later than 14 days after the contract date.
  • Before someone sells an option or assigns their contract to buy your home to another buyer, they must tell you in writing.
  • Federal law bans mortgage relief companies from asking for or taking any fee before you've signed a modification or other agreement with your lender.
  • Foreclosure rescue scammers may actually speed up a foreclosure by telling you to stop talking to your lender and servicer.

Two of these touch how I buy: the lease option rule and the assignment rule above. And don't stop talking to your lender while you weigh any offer, including mine.

Two more things worth knowing

For a covered servicemember's home loan, a foreclosure sale can't happen during active duty or for nine months after it ends, unless it's done under a court order issued before the sale or an agreement that meets the law's requirements.

If you apply to your servicer for help, get your complete application in more than 37 days before a scheduled sale. If it arrives later, the servicer doesn't necessarily have to review it.

Free help in Texas

Sources

Last checked October 26, 2026. Every fact on this page comes from one of these official sources.

  1. Texas State Law Library: General Information (guides.sll.texas.gov)
  2. HUD Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (PDF) (hud.gov)
  3. Texas Property Code, Chapter 51: Provisions Generally Applicable to Liens (tcss.legis.texas.gov)
  4. Texas State Law Library: After the Sale (guides.sll.texas.gov)
  5. CFPB: How long will it take before I’ll face foreclosure if I can’t make my mortgage payments? What is the foreclosure timeline? (consumerfinance.gov)
  6. Texas State Law Library: Before the Sale (guides.sll.texas.gov)
  7. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (PDF) (txcourts.gov)
  8. Texas Constitution, Article 16: General Provisions (tcss.legis.texas.gov)
  9. Texas Property Code, Chapter 209: Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act (tcss.legis.texas.gov)
  10. Texas Tax Code, Chapter 34: Tax Sales and Redemption (tcss.legis.texas.gov)
  11. Texas Property Code, Chapter 41: Interests in Land (tcss.legis.texas.gov)
  12. Texas Property Code, Chapter 5: Conveyances (tcss.legis.texas.gov)
  13. Texas Attorney General: Loan and Mortgage Scams (texasattorneygeneral.gov)
  14. CFPB: What happens after I complete an application to determine my options to avoid foreclosure? (consumerfinance.gov)
  15. TDHCA: Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) Program (tdhca.texas.gov)

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