Selling a House in Foreclosure in Texas
This page is for a homeowner who has received foreclosure notices or has been told that a sale date may be set. The dates in those notices matter. If you have a notice of sale, keep it, write down the date, and contact your loan servicer right away to confirm the status of the loan and the sale.
Ready Estates is a buyer, not a foreclosure assistance service. We do not charge a fee to review a property, and we cannot promise to stop, prevent, postpone, or save a house from foreclosure. A purchase helps only if a contract is signed and the closing is fully completed before the scheduled sale. When that happens, the existing loan is paid from the sale proceeds at closing according to the payoff statement.
Share the address and any sale date
If you have received a notice of sale, include the date in your message. We will tell you plainly whether the remaining time appears workable.
First steps when foreclosure notices arrive
Read every notice and keep the envelopes or electronic records. The notice of default and the notice of sale carry different deadlines. Call the servicer at the number on your mortgage statement and ask for the loan status, payoff amount, reinstatement amount, and sale date if one has been set. Take notes on each call.
You can also call a HUD approved housing counselor at (800) 569-4287. Do not ignore the servicer while you consider a sale. An offer request sent to Ready Estates does not pause a foreclosure, change a deadline, or require the servicer to wait. We also do not advise you to stop making payments.
How a direct purchase works before a foreclosure sale
We start with the address, the loan status, the expected payoff, and the scheduled sale date if there is one. We evaluate the property as it stands, compare it with recent nearby sales, and estimate repairs and resale costs. If the expected sale price cannot pay the loan and other required amounts in full, a normal purchase will not solve the payoff problem, and we will say so. A lender approved short sale is a different process and may take more time than the notice period allows.
If the numbers and timing look workable, a short property visit may be scheduled. The offer is then put in writing with the calculation available for you to review. You are not required to accept it. If you do accept, the closing is handled by a title company, which obtains the payoff, prepares the settlement statement, and coordinates the deed and funds.
The closing must be completed before the foreclosure sale occurs. A conversation, a form submission, or an unsigned offer does not pay the loan. Even a signed contract should not be treated as a completed purchase until the deed has closed and funds have been delivered. The remaining time, title condition, payoff information, and access to the property all affect whether a closing can be scheduled. We will give you a direct answer if the date does not leave enough time.
You do not need to repair or empty the house for our evaluation. Take the personal items you want to keep before closing. Any later move out date has to be agreed before signing and cannot help unless the purchase closes first.
The Texas foreclosure timeline
Most Texas home loan foreclosures are nonjudicial, which means the sale can proceed without a foreclosure lawsuit under the process in Texas Property Code Section 51.002. After default, the lender or servicer must give the borrower notice and at least 20 days to cure the default under Section 51.002(d). The cure amount is generally the past due payments and authorized fees needed to bring the loan current, not the entire loan balance.
Before a sale, notice must be given at least 21 days in advance under Section 51.002(b). The notice is posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and served on the borrower. Texas foreclosure sales are held on the first Tuesday of the month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the courthouse area designated by the county commissioners court.
Federal mortgage servicing rules generally prevent a servicer from making the first foreclosure notice or filing until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent. That rule does not replace the dates in your own notices, and exceptions can matter. Your servicer and a housing counselor can explain how it applies to your loan.
Texas does not give homeowners a general right to redeem a house after a mortgage foreclosure sale. If your sale date has passed, get legal advice about your specific position and any notices you receive.
Other options to discuss promptly
You may be able to reinstate the loan by paying the past due amount and fees before the deadline. Ask the servicer for a written reinstatement figure and the date through which it is valid. You can also ask the servicer what loss mitigation options it offers and what documents it requires. Ready Estates cannot submit that request for you or predict whether the servicer will approve an option.
Listing may be possible if there is enough time and equity to close before the sale date. An agent should be told the exact deadline at the first conversation. A buyer who needs financing, inspections, and appraisal may not fit a short schedule.
If the house is worth less than the loan balance, ask the servicer and a HUD approved counselor about a short sale or other loss mitigation. Those options require lender decisions and cannot be completed by a private buyer alone.
Related situations
If you are behind but have not received a notice of sale, read behind on payments. If property taxes or liens are also part of the problem, see back taxes or liens. If the house needs major work, read selling a house as is. Our areas we serve page covers the Dallas Fort Worth communities where we buy.
Can a sale still close after I receive a notice of sale?
A purchase can close after notice is given only if the title work, payoff, contract, and funding are all completed before the scheduled foreclosure sale. The amount of time left and the condition of title determine whether that is realistic. Contact your servicer and any buyer immediately, and do not assume a pending offer changes the sale date.
Does requesting an offer pause the foreclosure?
No. Sending a form, receiving an offer, or negotiating a contract does not pause the process. The loan is paid only when a purchase closes and the title company delivers the payoff funds. Keep communicating with your servicer while you evaluate every option.
What if the sale date is only a few days away?
Tell us the exact date when you contact us. We will say quickly if the schedule does not appear workable, but no buyer should promise a closing without confirming payoff and title. You should also call your servicer and a HUD approved counselor at (800) 569-4287 right away.
What if I owe more than the house will sell for?
A normal cash purchase cannot pay off a loan that is larger than the available sale proceeds. We will tell you if the numbers do not work. A short sale or another loss mitigation option would require servicer approval, and a housing counselor can explain the process for free.
Do you assign contracts to other buyers?
No. The contract names Kunjar Bhaduri as the buyer and contains no assignment language, so the buyer who signs with you is the buyer who closes. If we fail to close for a reason on our side, you may cancel and keep the earnest money instead of being passed to a substitute buyer. That is Term 1 on our Seller Terms page.
Can the price change after I sign?
The signed price is the closing price, with one documented exception: a material condition that was neither disclosed to us nor visible at the walkthrough, shown to you with a written repair estimate or the title commitment. Then you choose an adjusted price in writing or cancellation with the earnest money refunded to us, and any other price-change attempt is a failure on our side, after which you may cancel and keep the earnest money. Our Seller Terms page covers this as Term 2.
How much earnest money do you put down, and where is it held?
The amount is stated in the written offer before you sign, and we deposit it with the title company within 3 business days and email you the receipt. If we miss the closing date, try to change the price outside the one documented exception, or otherwise fail to close on our side, you may cancel and keep the earnest money. See Term 3 of our Seller Terms.
Can I cancel after I sign?
Yes. For 3 days after signing you may cancel in writing, for any reason and with no penalty, and any earnest money already deposited is refunded to us. After that window the contract binds both sides, but two rights in our terms survive it: you may choose cancellation if a material condition is documented after signing, and you may cancel and keep the earnest money if we fail to close on our side. Texas law does not give sellers that 3-day right in this kind of sale, so we write it into the contract ourselves; our Seller Terms page states the full wording.
Who picks the title company?
You do. Before you sign, the title company you choose prepares a written estimate of your net proceeds, with the expected payoffs listed as estimates. This is Term 7 of our Seller Terms.
Will you record anything against my house?
No. We record nothing against your property, and if the contract is cancelled for any reason we sign a written termination and release within 3 business days. Term 6 of our Seller Terms states the covenant in full.
Ask for a direct answer about the timeline
Send the address and sale date if one has been set. We will evaluate the property and tell you whether a completed purchase before the deadline appears possible.