Texas has no state income tax, and property taxes carry a correspondingly heavy load. They are also secured by a lien on the property that attaches automatically each year. Fall far enough behind and the taxing units can foreclose, and that process runs separately from anything your mortgage lender is doing.
A tax foreclosure in Texas is judicial. The taxing authority sues, and a https://stephentuna447.lumenforgex.com/posts/04-tax-foreclosure-in-texas court enters judgment for the taxes, penalties, interest and costs. The property is then sold at a sheriff\'s sale, typically on the same first Tuesday used for other foreclosure sales. Because a lawsuit is involved, the timeline is usually longer than a mortgage foreclosure, which gives homeowners more room to act than they often realize.
The feature that distinguishes tax sales is the right of redemption. Under Texas Tax Code Section 34.21, an owner of a residence homestead or agricultural land generally has two years after the deed is recorded to redeem the property, by paying the purchaser what they paid plus a statutory premium. For other categories of property the period is six months. This is a real second chance and it does not exist after an ordinary mortgage foreclosure in Texas.
Before any of that, there are cheaper exits. Texas allows installment agreements with taxing units for delinquent taxes on a residence homestead, which stops the clock while you pay it down. Homeowners who are sixty five or older, or who are disabled, may qualify to defer collection on their homestead entirely, though interest continues to accrue and the deferred amount eventually comes due from the estate or on sale. These are worth asking your county tax office about directly rather than assuming you do not qualify.
Be careful with tax lien transfer lenders, who pay your taxes and take an assignment of the lien. These are legitimate and regulated, but they are loans with their own rates and fees, and the lien they hold is a powerful one. Read the terms rather than treating it as a rescue.
If the arrears have grown past what any payment plan can realistically absorb, selling is worth examining honestly. Delinquent taxes are paid out of closing proceeds like any other lien, so a sale clears them without you having to fund the payoff first. Homeowners sometimes believe a large tax balance makes the property unsellable. It does not. It reduces the net, and the arithmetic is worth seeing before the judgment stage rather than after.
Start by pulling your account from the county tax office and confirming the actual balance, which lawsuit if any has been filed, and whether an installment agreement or deferral is open to you.