Texas First Tuesday Foreclosure Sales: How to Check Title Before You Bid
Texas deed of trust and tax sales are held on the first Tuesday of the month at the courthouse. What the notice says, what survives, and what to check first.
Quick answer
In Texas, a foreclosure under a deed of trust is a public auction held on the first Tuesday of a month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., at the county courthouse. Notice must be given at least 21 days ahead. Before bidding, search the county records for earlier liens, because a sale does not clear every lien.
What is a Texas first Tuesday sale?
Texas allows a lender to foreclose without going to court when the deed of trust contains a power of sale. Texas Property Code section 51.002 sets the rules for that sale. It must be a public auction held between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of a month. If the first Tuesday falls on January 1 or July 4, the sale moves to the first Wednesday.
The sale must take place at the county courthouse in the county where the land is located. If the property lies in more than one county, it may be sold at the courthouse in any of them. The county commissioners court designates the area at the courthouse for these sales and records the designation in the real property records. If none is designated, the notice of sale must say where the sale will happen.
Property taxes follow a similar calendar. Texas Tax Code section 34.01 sets tax sales for the same hours on the first Tuesday of a month, and also allows an online auction that concludes at 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday. That is why Texas investors talk about one day a month, in every county at once.
Definition
First Tuesday sale — A public auction of real property held on the first Tuesday of a month at the county courthouse, either by a trustee under the power of sale in a deed of trust or by a constable or sheriff under a tax judgment.
What does the notice of sale have to include, and when?
The notice is the first public document of the sale and the one most bidders start from.
Notice at least 21 days before the sale
Under Property Code 51.002(b), the notice must be given at least 21 days before the sale date. It must include a statement of the earliest time at which the sale will begin.
Three ways it is given
The notice is posted at the courthouse door of each county where the property lies, a copy is filed with the county clerk of each of those counties, and written notice is served by certified mail on each debtor shown in the mortgage servicer's records.
A cure notice comes first for a home
When the property is used as the debtor's residence, the servicer must first send a certified mail notice of default that gives at least 20 days to cure. Only after that period can the notice of sale be given.
The sale starts at the stated time or within three hours
The sale must begin at the time stated in the notice or no later than three hours after that time. A bidder who arrives on time for the earliest posted hour can still find the auction later in the afternoon.
The county clerk keeps the notices on file
Each county clerk keeps the filed notices in a file available to the public during normal business hours, which is how a bidder finds the list of properties for the month.
What should you check before bidding?
A foreclosure sale transfers what the foreclosing lien could transfer, no more. These are the checks that matter and where each answer lives.
| Check | Why it matters | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| The deed of trust being foreclosed | Its position decides which liens the sale clears | County Clerk, Official Public Records |
| Earlier deeds of trust and liens | A lien recorded before the foreclosing deed of trust is generally not wiped out by the sale | County Clerk, searched under the owner and the legal description |
| Abstracts of judgment and other recorded liens | Recorded judgments and liens against the owner can attach to the property | County Clerk |
| Unpaid property taxes | Taxes are a lien that does not disappear at a lender's foreclosure | County tax office |
| The owner of record | Confirms who is the debtor and whether title is held in a trust or company | Appraisal district and the last recorded deed |
| Pending lawsuits and bankruptcy | A filing can stop or void a sale | Federal and county courts |
Why a Texas tax sale needs a title check too
A tax sale has a feature that a lender's foreclosure sale lacks for most buyers: a right of redemption. Under Tax Code section 34.21, the owner of property that was the owner's residence homestead, land designated for agricultural use, or a mineral interest, may redeem the property on or before the second anniversary of the date the purchaser's deed is filed for record. The owner pays the purchaser the bid, the deed recording fee, taxes, penalties, interest and costs the purchaser paid, plus a premium of 25 percent of that total in the first year or 50 percent in the second year.
So the first thing to learn about a tax sale property is how the property was used when the suit was filed. If it was a homestead, the purchase may be undone for two years, and the title company that insures the property later will want to know that. A title search shows the recorded deed, the earlier loans and the liens that sit on top of the tax lien.
What does a Texas county records search find?
In Texas, real property records are recorded by the county clerk. A home loan is usually secured by a deed of trust, and a paid loan is released by a recorded release of lien. A deed of trust with no recorded release is still a lien of record, so the first job in a pre-auction search is to match every deed of trust to its release.
HeritageDeed searches the county clerk's records for deeds, deeds of trust, releases and liens and ties them to the property by its legal description. It marks any document linked by the owner's name only. It does not search delinquent property taxes, which are held by the county tax office. See the county page for Harris County, Dallas County, Bexar County, Tarrant County, Collin County or Montgomery County, and the Harris County tax sale list for properties scheduled for sale.
Frequently asked questions
- When are Texas foreclosure sales held?
- On the first Tuesday of the month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., at the county courthouse. If the first Tuesday is January 1 or July 4, the sale is held on the first Wednesday.
- How much notice must a Texas foreclosure sale have?
- At least 21 days. The notice is posted at the courthouse door, filed with the county clerk and mailed to the debtor by certified mail. For a home, the servicer must first give at least 20 days to cure the default.
- Does a Texas foreclosure sale clear every lien?
- No. A sale conveys what the foreclosing lien could convey. A lien recorded before the foreclosing deed of trust is generally not wiped out, and property taxes remain. Search the county records before bidding.
- Can a former owner get the property back after a Texas tax sale?
- Sometimes. For a residence homestead, agricultural land or a mineral interest, the owner can redeem until the second anniversary of the purchaser's deed being filed, by paying the bid and costs plus a premium of 25 percent in the first year or 50 percent in the second.
- Where do I find the list of properties for the next sale?
- The county clerk keeps the filed notices of sale in a file open to the public, and many counties publish the month's list. HeritageDeed lists the upcoming sales it can read for covered counties on its tax sale pages.
- Can foreclosure auctions in Texas be held online?
- A tax sale can be conducted as an online auction that concludes at 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday, under Tax Code section 34.01. A deed of trust sale under Property Code 51.002 is a public sale at the courthouse.
Legal references
Statutes and rules cited in this article.
- 1Texas Property Code section 51.002 (sale of real property under contract lien)
- 2Texas Tax Code section 34.01 (sale of property)
- 3Texas Tax Code section 34.21 (right of redemption)
Cite this guide
APA
HeritageDeed. (2026, November 10). Texas First Tuesday Foreclosure Sales: How to Check Title Before You Bid. https://heritagedeed.com/blog/texas-first-tuesday-foreclosure-title-check
MLA
“Texas First Tuesday Foreclosure Sales: How to Check Title Before You Bid.” HeritageDeed, November 10, 2026, heritagedeed.com/blog/texas-first-tuesday-foreclosure-title-check.
Link (HTML)
<a href="https://heritagedeed.com/blog/texas-first-tuesday-foreclosure-title-check">Texas First Tuesday Foreclosure Sales: How to Check Title Before You Bid</a> (HeritageDeed)HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.
