How foreclosure works in Texas

Updated September 2026. Educational only — not legal advice.

Texas moves faster than many homeowners expect. Most home loans here are foreclosed without a lawsuit, through a power-of-sale clause in the deed of trust. If you live in Houston or Harris County, the practical question is not “will a judge hear this?” It is “what date is on the notice, and what can I still do before the first Tuesday sale?”

This page is the map. For the Harris County auction itself, see first Tuesday in Harris County. For the payment clock, see how many payments you can miss.

Texas is a nonjudicial foreclosure state

When you signed your mortgage, you also signed a deed of trust. That document usually lets the lender (or a substitute trustee) sell the home at auction after required notices, without filing a foreclosure lawsuit first.

A court case can still happen in some situations — for example certain home-equity loans, or if you file a lawsuit or bankruptcy. For a typical purchase-money mortgage, the file often never goes to a courtroom.

The notices that matter

Texas Property Code §51.002 sets the basic timeline. Details vary by loan and servicer, but homeowners in Houston should watch for these steps:

1. Missed payments and default letters. Late fees and default notices usually start well before a sale is posted. Keep every envelope.
2. Notice of intent to accelerate (often 20 days). Before the lender can demand the full loan balance, Texas law generally requires written notice that you are in default and a chance to cure — commonly at least 20 days.
3. Notice of sale (at least 21 days). The sale notice must be posted at the county courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and mailed to you at least 21 days before the sale date.
4. Sale on the first Tuesday of the month. Texas trustee sales are held on the first Tuesday, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., at the courthouse or another place designated by Commissioners Court. If that Tuesday is January 1 or July 4, the sale is the first Wednesday. This year’s dates: 2026 first Tuesdays.

Federal rules still matter. For most mortgages, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation X says a servicer generally may not make the first foreclosure notice or filing until you are more than 120 days delinquent. That federal pause does not mean you have 120 extra days after a sale is already posted.

How to read the notice

Put these on one sheet of paper the day a letter arrives:

• The sale date (almost always a first Tuesday)
• The place of sale (street address, not just “Harris County”)
• The substitute trustee name and phone number
• Your loan number and the legal description / address
• Whether this is a mortgage trustee sale or a tax / constable sale — they can both land on the same Tuesday and they are different files

Keep the envelope. Dates and tracking numbers on the mail matter if you later talk to a counselor or an attorney.

Where Harris County sales happen

Harris County currently holds many first-Tuesday sales at the Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Road, Houston, TX 77045. Commissioners Court can change the designated place. Trust the address on your notice, not a blog post. Details: Harris County first-Tuesday sale.

Other Houston-area counties use their own rooms, steps, or (for some tax sales) websites. If the house is in Katy, Cypress, Sugar Land, Spring, or Pasadena, the county on the notice is the county that will call the sale — not the city on your mail. City list: which county is my house in?. Map of all 13: sale locations.

• Harris — Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Road
• Fort Bend — Gus George Academy, Patton Hall, Richmond
• Montgomery — Old 1936 Courthouse steps, 301 N. Main, Conroe
• Brazoria — Justice Center atrium, Angleton
• Galveston — courthouse lobby, 722 Moody; many tax sales online
• Waller — courthouse foyer, 836 Austin, Hempstead (not Walker)
• Chambers — east steps, 404 Washington, Anahuac
• Liberty — south steps, 1923 Sam Houston
• Walker — east side, 1100 University, Huntsville (not Waller)
• Austin County — foyer, 1 E. Main, Bellville (not the City of Austin)
• Colorado — annex foyer, 318 Spring, Columbus
• Wharton — annex, 309 E. Milam
• Matagorda — courthouse, 1700 7th Street, Bay City

What can be foreclosed on a Texas homestead

Texas homestead protection is strong, but it is not a shield against every lien. The liens that can typically reach a homestead include:

• The purchase-money mortgage
• A properly created home-equity loan or HELOC
• Property tax liens
• Mechanic’s / materialman’s liens for work on the home
• A lien from a court-ordered partition (for example after divorce)

HOA assessments and some other debts follow different rules. If an HOA or the tax office is involved, treat that as a separate clock from your mortgage. Walkthroughs: tax sale vs. mortgage and HOA vs. mortgage.

The 37-day application rule

Separate from Texas’s 20- and 21-day notices, federal servicing rules (CFPB Regulation X) generally require a servicer to evaluate a complete loss-mitigation application received more than 37 days before a scheduled foreclosure sale, and not to go to sale based on that application until they decide. A half-filled packet does not freeze a first Tuesday. Get “complete” in writing. How to try: keep the house.

After the sale

Texas generally does not give homeowners a long post-sale redemption period on a standard mortgage foreclosure. If the sale price is less than what you owe, the lender may try to collect a deficiency in some cases. Credit damage from a completed foreclosure is serious and lasts for years.

That is why the useful window is before the first Tuesday, not after.

What to do with this information

1. Find every notice. Put sale date, trustee name, and loan number on one sheet of paper.
2. Call the mortgage servicer’s loss-mitigation number (not only collections) and ask what applications are still open.
3. Read how missed payments turn into a Texas sale and options that can still stop or delay a sale.
4. Call a free HUD-approved counselor. Names and numbers are on who to contact when you cannot pay.

Frequently asked questions

Can the bank sell my Houston house without taking me to court?

Usually yes, if your deed of trust has a power-of-sale clause. That is the normal Texas process.

Is the sale always the first Tuesday?

Mortgage trustee sales are. The Wednesday shift applies only when the first Tuesday is January 1 or July 4 — not every holiday. 2026 has no Wednesday shift. Calendar: first Tuesdays in 2026. Tax and constable sales often share that Tuesday but are a different file.

Does a posted sale mean I have already lost the house?

No. A posted sale means the clock is short. Reinstatement, a complete loss-mitigation application, a sale of the home, or other options may still exist. Get current advice from a counselor or a Texas attorney before you assume it is over.

Is a tax sale the same as a mortgage foreclosure?

No. A mortgage trustee sale is the lender enforcing the deed of trust. A tax sale is the county enforcing unpaid property taxes. Both often happen the first Tuesday. Catching up the mortgage does not automatically stop a tax sale, and paying the tax office does not automatically stop the bank.

Related: Harris County first Tuesday · City or county? · 2026 calendar · How to avoid foreclosure · Ayuda en español