Houston, TX › Foreclosure
Can I Sell My Houston House Before Foreclosure?
If a trustee's sale is scheduled, tell us the date right away so we can try to close before it.
Often, yes: before the auction, you may still sell if the payoff, title work, and closing can be completed in time. Follow the date on your own notice; a mortgage sale date is not changed just because you are considering a sale.
We buy houses as-is in Houston and in Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, and Waller Counties. We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us.
Call 888-274-5006We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.
We give written cash offers in 24 hours.
Takes 2 minutes. No obligation.
How we help
We review the Houston house as-is and put our cash offer and terms in writing before you commit. If you choose to move ahead, we work with the title company on the ownership and payoff details and toward a closing before the scheduled sale, when the timing allows.
When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs. Mortgage balances, liens, back taxes, and your share of current property taxes are separate.
Which sale is involved?
Mortgage foreclosure: a trustee’s sale
Texas mortgage foreclosures are usually handled without a court case, through a trustee or substitute trustee. For a property used as your residence, the servicer must first send written notice of default by certified mail and give at least 20 days to catch up before a sale can be noticed. Then the notice of sale must be posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and sent by certified mail to each borrower at least 21 days before the sale. Read the Texas State Law Library’s explanation of notices before a foreclosure sale and follow the dates in your own notice.
The trustee sale is a public courthouse auction, usually on the first Tuesday of the month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; it must start no later than three hours after the time stated in the notice. Some foreclosures go through court and follow different steps. The Texas State Law Library’s sale information explains the auction process.
Property-tax sale
A tax sale concerns delinquent property taxes, not a lender’s mortgage trustee sale. The mortgage notice periods above are not the tax-sale deadline. Check the tax account, case papers, and sale information with the tax office for the county where the property is located.
If the payoff is the problem
Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before.
What happens next
- Call or send the property address and the sale date or notice you have. Tell us whether the notice is about a mortgage or property taxes.
- We review the house as-is and give you a written cash offer and written terms before you commit.
- If you decide to proceed, the title company reviews ownership and works through payoff details with the lender or tax office.
- The title company coordinates the closing. When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs. Mortgage balances, liens, back taxes, and your share of current property taxes are separate; the sale must close before the trustee’s sale if that is the deadline you face.
It's real estate. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. We won't disappear when that happens, and we'll be fighting to get this to the closing table.
Local county records and tax-sale information
The City of Houston overlaps Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, and Waller Counties, so a Houston address alone does not tell you which county handles the property. Use the county on your notice or property record and confirm any sale date from the notice and the office handling that matter.
- Harris County: County Clerk real-property records and delinquent tax-sale information.
- Fort Bend County: County Clerk real and personal property records and the Tax Assessor-Collector property-tax office.
- Montgomery County: County Clerk recording and real-property records and the County Tax Office.
- Waller County: County Clerk real-property records and the Tax Assessor-Collector’s property-tax information.
Questions and contact
Questions About Selling Before Foreclosure in Houston, TX
Can I sell my Houston house before a trustee’s sale?
If a trustee's sale is scheduled, tell us the date right away so we can try to close before it. A sale may still be possible if the payoff, title work, and time available allow closing before the sale.
Are a mortgage foreclosure sale and a property-tax sale the same?
No. A property-tax sale concerns delinquent property taxes, not a lender’s mortgage. The mortgage default and sale-notice periods do not set the deadline for a tax sale; check the tax case papers and the correct county tax office for that property.
Which county handles a Houston property?
The City of Houston overlaps Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, and Waller Counties. The city name alone does not identify a property’s county, so use the address and property records or notices to find the right county office.
What if the payoff is more than the house is worth?
Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before.
Do I have to pay back taxes or liens before closing?
You don't need to pay off your back taxes before we settle. We buy houses with back taxes and liens — payoffs get handled through the closing, not by you upfront.
Talk with us about a Houston foreclosure
Call 888-274-5006 or send the property details. We buy houses as-is in Houston and Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, and Waller Counties.
We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.
We give written cash offers in 24 hours.
Takes 2 minutes. No obligation.