Blog · Updated October 2026

The Texas Foreclosure Process, Step by Step

If you have missed mortgage payments, knowing which stage you are in helps you decide what to do next. A letter asking you to catch up and a notice setting an auction date are not the same thing. I’ve arranged this guide around those stages, with a practical action beside each one.

This is general information, not legal advice. It describes mortgage foreclosure and explains separately why a property tax sale needs a different discussion. Keep your own letters handy. A general guide cannot tell you the deadline for your particular house.

1. Start with the missed payment and the account records

Begin with the information you have rather than guessing how close an auction might be. Gather the mortgage statements and any letters from the loan servicer. Put them in date order. If an amount or a date does not make sense, mark it so you can ask about it.

Most Texas home loans can be foreclosed without a court case. A “power of sale” in the deed of trust allows a public auction under Texas Property Code section 51.002. Waiting for court papers is therefore not a useful way to work out where a mortgage stands.

What you can do: Call the servicer and ask it to explain the account. Say whether you want to keep the house or are considering selling. Write down what you still need to ask, and keep that list with your statements.

2. Understand the federal rule about starting foreclosure

Under 12 CFR 1024.41(f)(1)(i), a servicer generally cannot start foreclosure until the loan is more than 120 days behind. The word “generally” matters. Do not read this as a guaranteed period when every homeowner can put the mail aside.

This federal rule concerns the start of foreclosure. It does not give you a sale date by itself. The written notices and the Texas sale schedule also matter, so avoid treating a number on a calendar as the whole answer.

What you can do: Ask the servicer where the account stands and what options it can discuss. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you work through your questions. You can start those conversations while you are gathering the rest of the paperwork.

3. Read the notice giving time to catch up

Before the notice of sale, the servicer must send the homeowner a written notice by certified mail giving at least 20 days to catch up. Catching up is also called curing the default. This requirement appears in Texas Property Code section 51.002(d).

Read the notice rather than relying on a summary someone gives you over the phone. Find the date it names and the instructions it gives. Keep the envelope and the full letter together, including pages that look routine. They can be useful when explaining what arrived.

What you can do: Ask the servicer to explain anything you do not understand about catching up. If the legal meaning or timing is unclear, ask a Texas attorney to review the paperwork. Share the actual notice rather than only a remembered date.

4. Check the notice announcing the sale

The sale notice must be given at least 21 days before the sale. Texas Property Code section 51.002(b) requires it to be posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and sent to the homeowner by certified mail. Look for the notice concerning your own property.

This is a different notice from the earlier opportunity to catch up. Keep both. The federal starting rule, the cure notice, and the sale notice describe different parts of foreclosure. Adding their time periods together is not a substitute for having your actual dates reviewed.

What you can do: Put the proposed sale date somewhere you can find it easily. Take the notice to an attorney if you have questions. Keep the servicer informed while you discuss keeping the house or consider a possible sale.

5. Confirm the auction day and the county location

Sales happen on the first Tuesday of the month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. When that Tuesday falls on January 1 or July 4, the sale moves to the first Wednesday. The county commissioners court designates the place where the sale is held.

In Harris County, recent sales have been held at the Bayou City Event Center on Knight Road. Check the Harris County Clerk’s posted foreclosure notices for the current location. I explain the local details in Harris County foreclosure auctions: how they work.

What you can do: Read the date and location directly from the current notice. If you are discussing a sale of the house, give the people involved that information. An owner can usually sell any time before the foreclosure sale, but a conversation with a buyer does not itself stop the auction.

A tax foreclosure needs a separate conversation

Do not apply the mortgage timeline to a notice about unpaid property taxes. A property tax foreclosure sale is different. If a homestead is sold for unpaid taxes, Texas Tax Code section 34.21 lets the owner buy it back, or redeem it, within two years after the buyer’s deed is recorded.

Redemption involves a 25 percent premium in the first year or a 50 percent premium in the second. Ask an attorney about the recorded deed and what the rule means for your house. This is not a general right to buy a house back after a mortgage foreclosure.

If selling the house is an option you want to discuss

I start with a phone conversation about the property, its condition, and what you need. If I make an offer and the number works for you, it goes in writing and you pick the closing date. I walk through the house before closing at a title company.

I cannot promise to stop a foreclosure or close before a particular auction. Asking for an offer is free and doesn’t commit you to a sale. Keep the notices available for your conversations with the servicer and advisers.

Read more about selling a Houston house while facing foreclosure, or send me the address if you want to talk. A short description and the date on your notice are enough to start; leave private loan documents out of the form.

Sources

Texas Property Code section 51.002, including subsections (a), (a-1), (b) and (d) (public sales, dates, locations and notices); 12 CFR 1024.41(f)(1)(i) (the federal foreclosure-start rule); Texas Tax Code section 34.21 (redemption after a property tax sale).