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What Is the Foreclosure Process in Texas?
Owning a home is a dream come true. Unfortunately, some dreams don’t last. Economic hardships hit everyone, and there are times when you just can’t keep up with the mortgage. It’s an awful feeling, but it happens to a lot of people, and there are actions you can take to get out of this situation. Your first step is learning about the foreclosure process in Texas.
Late Payments
The process starts with missing payments. When you fall behind on your mortgage, you can try to catch up. You’ll get notices about missing payments, and if you wait too long, a notice about impending foreclosure. This stage is the best moment to get ahead of the problem. If you know you won’t be able to keep up with the mortgage — a hard position to be in — you can look into a loan modification, or you can start looking into selling the home.
Notice of Default
This is different from the notice of late payment. When you get this notice, the clock officially begins to run on the foreclosure process. This notice has to be sent by certified mail. From the time you sign and acknowledge that you received the letter, you have 20 days to fix the default.
At this point, negotiation is still possible. When you receive this notice, you can talk to the lender and discuss options that will bring you out of default. They have the right to demand that you completely catch up with your payments, but lenders want to get paid. If there’s a reasonable solution, many will work with you. It’s easier for them.
Notice of Sale
If you can’t resolve the issue during the cure period (the 20 days in the previous section), then the lender can move toward selling the property. You get another notice for this part. Now the lender has to wait 21 days before it is allowed to sell your house. Effectively, this is how long you have to vacate. If you’re still in the house after it sells, you’ll be trespassing.
Negotiation still isn’t a lost option. At this stage, the house is lost, but you can discuss a move-out schedule with the lender. If you need a little more than 21 days, the lender might be willing to work with you.
Foreclosure Sale
In Texas, the rights of mortgage lenders allow them to sell a house when the mortgage defaults. In other states, the owner has this right, but that’s not how Texas does things. In a foreclosure sale, the property is sold to the highest bidder. The lender will keep the proceeds from the sale.
Preventing Foreclosure
If you think you are headed down this road, you have to resolve the problem before the notice of sale. That means you only get the first two steps to work with. Your best course of action is to talk to the lender. They can provide some alternative payment plans, and you might be able to stay where you are. Keep in mind that a new payment plan won’t absolve you of your debt, but it can lead to a more sustainable situation.
You can also look into selling the house. Up until a notice of sale, you’re the homeowner, and you have the right to sell it. If you can sell the house for enough to cover the mortgage, you can pay the debt and keep whatever is left. That might be enough for a downpayment on a new place with a mortgage that is easier to maintain.
If you can’t sell the house for enough to cover the mortgage, you can still look into a short sale. It’s more complicated, but it can resolve the debt so that you don’t have it looming over you anymore.
Facing foreclosure is never easy, but you can still be proactive about it. Learning about ways to sell your house quickly and easily is one of many ways you can get out of this predicament. We Buy Killeen Houses is a property investor that is interested in buying your house. You can get an offer with no commitment and see if it’s a potential resolution to your foreclosure problem.
