Foreclosures

Most Texas foreclosures never see a courtroom. A deed of trust gives the lender a power of sale, and the statute lets them use it on a schedule measured in weeks: on a home, written notice of default with at least twenty days to cure, then notice of the sale at least twenty-one days before it happens, then a sale on the first Tuesday of the month at the county courthouse. The speed is the point. It is also the weakness — each of those steps has requirements, and lenders and servicers do not always meet them.

Some foreclosures cannot proceed that way at all. A Texas home equity loan, a reverse mortgage, a transferred property tax lien, and a homeowners association assessment lien all require a court order before a sale, obtained through an expedited proceeding under Rule 736. That proceeding has its own answer deadline, and letting it pass uncontested hands the lienholder the order.

The sale is not always the end of the exposure either. A lender who sells the property for less than the balance can sue for the deficiency, and Texas gives a two-year window to do it — along with a right to have the property's fair market value determined and offset against the claim, which is often worth far more than the number in the demand letter. After a sale, possession is decided separately, in a forcible detainer suit that turns on the deed of trust rather than on who owns the property.

We represent homeowners and property owners facing a sale, borrowers defending a deficiency, and lienholders who need a foreclosure done correctly the first time. Where the sale was wrongful — no real default, defective notice, a sale conducted outside the statute — that is a claim, and it is litigated like one.

Call before the sale date if you possibly can. Options narrow sharply once the property is sold, and the calendar in these matters is unforgiving.