A trustee sale is the public auction at the end of many Texas home-loan foreclosures. It is not a Wednesday sheriff's sale in Shreveport or an online Wednesday sale in Bossier. The notice you were given has your date and your place. This page explains the usual rules in plain words. It is not legal advice, and it is not a promise about your loan.
Call or text Charlie at (318) 714-4321 if you want us to look at the house. Selling is one option. It is not the first call to make, and we do not stop a foreclosure or negotiate with your lender.
Want a cash offer, or to have us take over the payments? Call or text Charlie at (318) 714-4321, or Get My Cash Offer. Cash is not promised on every house. No fee, no obligation.
What a Texas trustee sale is
Most Texas home loans use a deed of trust. That paper gives a trustee a power of sale. When the loan is in default, the sale under that power is generally a public auction. A judge does not have to sign a Louisiana-style writ of seizure first. Lawyers call this a nonjudicial foreclosure.
Texas Property Code section 51.002 sets the basic rules for that auction:
- The sale is a public auction between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of a month.
- If that Tuesday is January 1 or July 4, the sale is between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Wednesday.
- The sale is at the county courthouse in the county where the land sits, in the area the commissioners court has designated. If the land is in more than one county, the statute allows the sale at a courthouse in any of those counties. Your notice names the place.
- The sale must begin at the time stated in the notice, or not later than three hours after that time.
Louisiana pages about Wednesday sheriff sales do not set the date for a house in Texas.
The 21-day notice of sale
Section 51.002 also says notice of the sale must be given at least 21 days before the sale date. The notice has to state the earliest time the sale will begin. The statute requires three steps:
- Posting a written notice at the courthouse door of each county where the property is located.
- Filing a copy of that notice with the county clerk of each of those counties.
- Serving written notice by certified mail on each debtor who, according to the mortgage servicer's records, is obligated to pay the debt.
For a residence, the same section says the servicer must first send a separate default notice by certified mail and give the debtor at least 20 days to cure the default before the notice of sale can be given. Certified-mail service is complete when the notice is deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, to the debtor's last known address. The day the sale notice is given counts toward the 21 days. The day of the sale does not.
Those are the statute's words, in short. Whether your notice met them is a question for a Texas attorney. We do not review notices as a law firm.
Where the sale is posted in our East Texas towns
The county where the land sits controls the door. Send the street address if you are not sure of the county. Longview in particular crosses county lines.
- Marshall, Harrison County. Notices are filed with the county clerk at the courthouse, 200 West Houston Street. The local steps are on the Marshall page. The rest of the county is on Harrison County.
- Longview, mostly Gregg County. The Gregg County Courthouse is at 101 East Methvin Street. Some east Longview addresses, including part of 75602, are in Harrison County and follow Harrison's filing place. The Longview page explains that line.
- Tyler, Smith County. Smith County's foreclosures page describes deed-of-trust sales at the courthouse in the area the commissioners court designated, which the county describes as the west entrance. The county clerk's office is at 200 East Ferguson Street, Suite 300. More local detail is on the Tyler page.
A property-tax sale is a different process. The notice says which one you are in.
Options people ask about before the sale
Start with the free and official options. None of these is something we can do for you.
- Cure or reinstate. For a residence, section 51.002 requires at least 20 days to cure the default before a notice of sale can be given. After that, catching up or reinstating the loan is between you and the servicer, and it depends on the notice and the loan papers. Ask the servicer in writing. A Texas attorney can tell you what those papers allow.
- A loan modification or other workout. That is also a request to the servicer. We do not negotiate with your lender, and we do not promise that a servicer will agree.
- Sell before the sale. A sale that closes before the auction, with the loan paid off at the title company, is one way the auction does not happen. The title work has to be ready in time. We do not promise that a closing can beat the date on your notice.
- Talk to a Texas attorney. If you do not understand the notice, if you or your spouse is on active military duty, or if you are not sure which county the land is in, talk to a lawyer. The statute requires a conspicuous military-service statement on the notice. We do not give legal advice.
A HUD-approved housing counselor is free. Search the HUD counselor list.
Section 51.002 does not give the owner a set number of days after the auction to buy the house back. Do not plan on time after the sale. Ask a Texas attorney what, if anything, still applies to your notice.
How a sale to us works
We buy houses as they sit. You do not repair, clean, or hold showings first. Sometimes the written choice is cash. Sometimes it is taking over the payments. Cash is not promised on every house.
The usual order, if a sale to us fits:
- You call Charlie at (318) 714-4321 or send the form. Tell us the address, the county, and the date on the notice.
- Charlie calls back, usually the same day. The call is questions, not a contract.
- We look at the house as it sits.
- We put a choice in writing. You can show it to a lawyer, and you can say no.
- If you accept, a title company closes on a date you pick, if the paperwork can be ready before the auction. The title company pays off the loan and sends you what is left.
We charge sellers no fee and no commission when we buy. Who pays which closing costs is in the written offer. We do not promise to pay all of them, and we do not promise a number of days. Once we agree, a sale often closes within a couple of weeks, and you can take longer if you need the time and the auction date allows it. The title company and any loan payoff set the real pace.
The wider map of where we buy is on East Texas. A Louisiana sheriff's sale is a different court process. If the house is in Caddo or Bossier Parish, start with options before a Caddo or Bossier sheriff's sale.
We buy houses. We are a home buyer, not a law firm, a lender, or a housing counselor. We charge homeowners no fee. We do not stop a foreclosure, and we do not negotiate with your lender. Cash is not promised on every house.
Auction versus a sale before that date compares equity, a possible deficiency, the timeline, and credit for a sheriff's sale or a trustee sale. It is not legal advice. En español: antes de una subasta del fideicomisario.
Sources
Texas Property Code section 51.002 (sale time, first Tuesday, January 1 and July 4, 21-day notice, certified mail, and the 20-day cure notice for a residence). Local filing places: Marshall, Longview, Smith County foreclosures, and the Gregg County clerk.
Updated November 13, 2026