Navigating the Texas foreclosure process can feel overwhelming when you're stressed over losing your home. But loan providers have to follow federal and Texas foreclosure laws, and these laws include crucial foreclosure notice requirements developed to offer you fair warning before they take any action or sell your home at a foreclosure sale. If you have actually gotten a foreclosure notice or are just concerned about what happens if you fall back on your mortgage payments, you should discover your rights and the steps you can require to stop a foreclosure.
This guide breaks down what happens throughout the Texas foreclosure procedure, discusses what each notification means, and describes your choices to prevent foreclosure. With this understanding, you can make smart, confident decisions for your home and your family. You'll likewise have the ability to make the many of your scenario and, ideally, work out a way to save your home or a minimum of survive the procedure with as little stress and anxiety as possible.
What Are My Rights During Foreclosure in Texas?
When Can a Foreclosure Start in Texas?
What Kinds of Foreclosure Are Available in Texas?
How Long Does Foreclosure Take in Texas?
Texas Foreclosure Timeline and Steps
How to Stop Foreclosure in Texas
Can I Get My House Back After a Texas Foreclosure?
Are Deficiency Judgments Allowed in Texas?
Texas Foreclosure Process for Home Equity Loans Is Different
Get More Foreclosure Help and Information
What Are My Rights During Foreclosure in Texas?
Under federal law, the servicer usually can't officially begin a foreclosure till you're more than 120 days overdue on payments.
Before the foreclosure crisis, federal and state laws controling mortgage servicers and foreclosure procedures were fairly restricted and tended to prefer foreclosing loan providers. However, federal and state laws now greatly manage loan maintenance and foreclosure procedures. The majority of the laws offer defenses to debtors. Servicers normally have to offer borrowers with loss mitigation chances, account for each foreclosure step, and strictly comply with foreclosure laws.
Also, the majority of people who take out a loan to purchase a house in Texas sign a promissory note and a deed of trust. These documents offer homeowners legal rights, such as the right to a preforeclosure notice called a "breach letter."
In a Texas foreclosure, you also can get specific foreclosure notices throughout the procedure, get present on the loan to stop the foreclosure sale, get unique protections if you're in the military, and get any excess cash after a foreclosure sale, among other things.
When Can a Foreclosure Start in Texas?
Under federal law, the servicer generally can't officially start a foreclosure till you're more than 120 days overdue on payments, subject to a few exceptions. (12 C.F.R. § 1024.41 (2025 ).) This 120-day preforeclosure duration offers most house owners lots of time to make an application for loss mitigation with their loan servicer.
What Kinds of Foreclosure Are Available in Texas?
If you default on your mortgage payments in Texas, the lending institution may foreclose using a judicial or nonjudicial technique.
How Judicial Foreclosures Work
A judicial foreclosure begins when the loan provider files a suit asking a court for an order enabling a foreclosure sale. If you do not respond with a composed answer, the loan provider will immediately win the case. But if you pick to defend the foreclosure claim, the court will examine the evidence and figure out the winner. If the lender wins, the judge will go into a judgment and purchase your home sold at auction.
How Nonjudicial Foreclosures Work
If the loan provider picks a nonjudicial foreclosure, it must complete the out-of-court procedures described in the state statutes. After doing so, the loan provider can offer the home at a foreclosure sale.
Most loan providers select the nonjudicial process because it's quicker and more affordable than prosecuting the matter in court.
How Long Does Foreclosure Take in Texas?
The nonjudicial foreclosure procedure, from the Notice of Default and Intent to Accelerate (see below) to the foreclosure auction, can take just 41 to around 90 days. However, including the 120-day preforeclosure delinquency period, the entire process may take around 6 or 7 months in overall, though it can be much shorter sometimes.
Texas Foreclosure Timeline and Steps
Again, most property foreclosures in Texas are nonjudicial. Here's how the procedure works.
Notice of Default and Intent to Accelerate in a Texas Foreclosure
Texas law needs the servicer to send you (the debtor) a notice of default and intent to speed up by certified mail that provides at least 20 days to treat the default before a notification of sale can be provided. The 30-day breach letter sent out pursuant to the terms of the deed of trust can satisfy this requirement. (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002 (d)
( 2025).) The notice is sent out to the borrower's last recognized address and should consist of the amount due and the date it has actually to be paid.
Under Texas law, the statute of restrictions for a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure is 4 years, starting the day after the reason for action accumulates. (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.035 (a), (b),( d)( 2025 ).) Generally, the accrual date is the loan's maturity date. But if the mortgage loan consists of a velocity clause, the statute of limitations begins at the time of acceleration. (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.035 (e )( 2025 ); Holy Cross Church of God in Christ v. Wolf, 44 S.W. 3d 562, 566, Tex. 2001). To speed up a mortgage loan, the loan provider should offer the customer clear notifications of the intent to accelerate and the actual velocity. (See Ogden v. Gibralter Sav. Ass' n, 640 S.W. 2d 232 (1982 ).) The four-year statute of limitations begins when these notifications are sent out.
Notice of Sale in a Texas Foreclosure
After the remedy duration has ended and a minimum of 21 days before the foreclosure sale, the servicer sends a notice of sale through certified mail to each borrower bound to pay the financial obligation. The notice of sale will likewise be:
- published at the courthouse door in the county where the residential or commercial property lies
- submitted with the county clerk in the county where the residential or commercial property lies, and
- published online. (The county should also post the date, time, and place of the sale on the very same site page on which the notification is posted.) (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002 (b ),(
f-1)(2025).)The notification of sale should include the date, time, and place of the sale, in addition to a disclosure geared toward military servicemembers that they should alert the sender of the notice about their military status. (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002 (i) (2025).)The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act offers legal protections to military personnel who might lose their home to foreclosure.
Foreclosure sales are generally held on the first Tuesday of each month between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the county court house. The sale should begin at the time specified in the notice of sale however no behind 3 hours after the time arranged on the notice of sale. (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002 (a)
( 2025 ).)A couple of prospective methods to stop a foreclosure consist of restoring the loan, exercising a loss mitigation choice, redeeming the residential or commercial property before the sale, or declare insolvency.
At the sale, the lender normally makes a credit bid. The loan provider can bid up to the overall amount owed, consisting of charges and expenses, or it may bid less. In some states, including Texas, when the lender is the high bidder at the sale however bids less than the total debt, it can get a deficiency judgment (see below) versus the debtor. If the lending institution is the greatest bidder, the residential or commercial property ends up being "genuine estate owned" (REO).
But if a bidder, say a 3rd party, is the greatest bidder and offers more than you owe, and the sale leads to excess proceeds-that is, cash over and above what's required to pay off all the liens on your property-you're entitled to that surplus money.
Eviction
If you remain in the home after a foreclosure sale, the buyer of the residential or commercial property is needed to supply you with a "notification to leave" before filing an eviction case. In Texas, this kind of case is referred to as a "forcible detainer" action.
In this post, you'll discover information on foreclosure laws in Texas, with citations to statutes so you can find out more. Statutes alter, so checking them is always an excellent concept. How courts and firms analyze and apply laws can change. And some guidelines can even differ within a state. These are simply some of the factors to think about consulting an attorney if you're facing a foreclosure.
How to Stop Foreclosure in Texas
A couple of potential ways to stop a foreclosure and keep your home include renewing the loan, exercising a loss mitigation choice (such as a loan adjustment), redeeming the residential or commercial property before the sale, or filing for personal bankruptcy. Alternatively, you may be able to exercise a brief sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure and prevent a foreclosure. But you'll need to quit your home with either of these options.
Reinstating the Loan
Texas law allows the debtor to obstruct a nonjudicial foreclosure sale by "renewing" the loan (paying the overdue amount) within 20 days after the lender serves the notice of default by mail. (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002(d) (2025 ).)
Also, most deeds of trust offer additional time to reinstate. Check your loan documents to learn if you have more time to finish a reinstatement.
Declare Bankruptcy
If you're facing a foreclosure, declaring personal bankruptcy may help. If a foreclosure sale is scheduled to happen in the next day approximately, the finest way to stop the sale right away is by declaring insolvency. Once you file for insolvency, something called an "automated stay" enters into impact. The stay operates as an injunction, restricting the lending institution from foreclosing on your home or attempting to collect its financial obligation, a minimum of temporarily.
Oftentimes, applying for Chapter 7 insolvency can delay the foreclosure by a matter of months. Or, if you wish to save your home, declaring Chapter 13 insolvency might be the answer. To discover the options readily available, talk to a local personal bankruptcy attorney.
Can I Get My House Back After a Texas Foreclosure?
One way to stop a foreclosure is by "redeeming" the residential or commercial property. To redeem, you need to pay off the full loan amount before the foreclosure sale. To do this, you 'd require to get your hands on a great deal of cash fairly quickly. So, very few property owners are able to complete a redemption before losing their home in a foreclosure sale.
Some states also provide foreclosed customers a redemption period after the foreclosure sale, during which they can redeem the home. However, Texas law does not provide borrowers a statutory right of redemption after a foreclosure. Once your Texas home has actually been foreclosed, you can't redeem it to get it back.
Are Deficiency Judgments Allowed in Texas?
In a foreclosure, the borrower's total mortgage debt frequently surpasses the foreclosure sale price. The difference in between the total financial obligation and the price is called a "deficiency." For instance, say the overall debt owed is $300,000, however the home sells for $250,000 at the foreclosure sale. The shortage is $50,000.
In some states, the loan provider can look for a personal judgment versus the debtor to recuperate the deficiency. Generally, once the lending institution gets a shortage judgment, the loan provider might collect this amount-in our example, $50,000-from the debtor.
Texas foreclosure laws permit deficiency judgments.
Texas Deficiency Judgment Laws
In Texas, the loan provider may obtain a deficiency judgment after a nonjudicial foreclosure. The lender needs to file a lawsuit for a shortage judgment within 2 years after the foreclosure sale. (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.003
( a) ). However, Texas state law allows the borrower to receive credit for the residential or commercial property's reasonable market price. So, the debtor is entitled to an offset in the deficiency amount if the residential or commercial property's reasonable market price is greater than the foreclosure list price. (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.003( b), (c )( 2025)
.) Texas Foreclosure Process for Home Equity Loans Is Different
In Texas, how a foreclosure will work depends upon the type of mortgage that's being foreclosed. While there are numerous different types of loans, the most common are:
- purchase money loans (a "purchase money loan" is a loan secured to buy the residential or commercial property).
- purchase cash 2nd loans, and.
equity loans, like home equity loans and home equity lines of credit.
Again, most foreclosures in Texas including purchase cash loans are nonjudicial. But equity loan foreclosures are a little different. Under Texas law, the lending institution should use a quasi-judicial process to foreclose this sort of loan.
In this process, the lender must get a court order approving the foreclosure before carrying out a nonjudicial foreclosure. Also, Texas law does not enable shortage judgments following the foreclosure of a home equity loan.
Home Equity Loan Foreclosures Involve an Additional Step: The Lender Must Go to Court
Foreclosing an equity loan includes another action that falls in between sending a breach letter and notification of sale: The loan provider should file an application in court requesting for an order permitting the foreclosure. (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 735, 736; Texas Constitution, Article XVI, § 50 [a] [6] [D] (2025 ).)
Responding to the foreclosure. The application needs to be served to you by mail, and you get 38 days from the date of mailing to file an action. If you decide to respond, your response must remain in the correct format and might be in the form of a general rejection, but should agreeably plead:
- why you believe you didn't sign the specified loan contract document.
- why you're not obliged to pay.
- that the variety of months of the supposed default (that is, the number of months the loan provider states you lag in payments) is inaccurate, or that the reinstatement or pay off amounts the loan provider supplied are materially incorrect.
- that any document connected to the application is not a true and correct copy of the original, or.
- that you made the payments (and you'll need to supply proof). (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 736.5 (2025 ).)
You can't raise any independent claims for relief. To combat the foreclosure on other premises, you'll have to submit your own claim.
What takes place if you file a reaction. If you file a reaction to the application, the court sets a hearing that, like the action, is restricted in scope. The only issue in this sort of case is whether the lender can get an order enabling it to proceed with foreclosure under the law and the regards to the loan agreement. (See In re One West Bank, FSB, 430 S.W. 3d 573 (Tex.App. 2014)).
If the court grants the lending institution's application at the hearing, the foreclosure will proceed. The lending institution will then send you a foreclosure sale notice.
Foreclosure Sale
Again, foreclosure sales are usually held the first Tuesday of each month between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the county courthouse. The sale must begin at the time specified in the notification of sale, but no behind 3 hours after the time scheduled on the notification of sale. (Tex. Prop. Code § 51.002 (2025 ).)
Deficiency Judgment Following the Home Equity Loan Foreclosure
Texas law does not allow the loan provider to get a deficiency judgment versus you after foreclosing an equity loan. (Texas Constitution, Article XVI, § 50 [a] [6] [C] (2025 ).)
Get More Foreclosure Help and Information
For more details on federal mortgage maintenance laws and foreclosure relief options, go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) website. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs also supplies details about foreclosures, consisting of foreclosure FAQs, for Texas property owners. In addition, the Texas State Law Library has useful info about the Texas foreclosure procedure.
If you have concerns about Texas's foreclosure process or want to find out about possible defenses to a foreclosure and perhaps fight the foreclosure in court, consider speaking to a foreclosure lawyer. It's likewise an excellent concept to talk with a HUD-approved housing therapist about different loss mitigation alternatives.
