Harris County

November 3: the place, the hours and the list

The Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector describes the sale as a live monthly auction held on the first Tuesday of each month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., at the Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Road, Houston. Bidder registration opens at 8:30 a.m. The parking lot usually fills by 9:30 a.m., parking costs $5, and the office asks people not to call the event center about the sale. A separate trustee (mortgage) auction runs at the pavilion across the lot; you do not need a tax office registration for that one, and it is not a tax sale.

The tax office's property listing was already set to the November 3 sale when we opened it on October 10, with 66 accounts marked for sale across seven precincts. The office warns that the listing may not include every property on the day. The two law firms that collect for the taxing units post their own lists: Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott had November 3 lists up for seven of the eight constable precincts, and Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson posts its cases on its own site. The status of each case is available in real time from a week before the sale.

Register with the tax office first

Harris County has adopted bidder registration under Texas Tax Code § 34.011, so you cannot bid unless the tax office has issued you a registration before the sale begins. It must be renewed every year. You can pre-register online, by mail or in person at the sale. You will need your name and address, valid identification, and a signed statement, built into the form, that you owe no delinquent taxes to Harris County or any taxing unit in it. Owing taxes on any Harris County property disqualifies you.

Your registration becomes a Bidder Card, which is your written registration statement. If you registered online, pick it up at the will-call station on sale day with the same photo ID you used. Agents bidding for someone else must register each bidder-owner, show written authority, and provide a list of the properties that owner already has in Harris County. The name on the bidder card is the name that goes on the deed.

How the auction works

Each of the eight constable precincts offers its own properties, usually simultaneously, in the order shown on the property boards at the sale and published in the Daily Court Review. There are three kinds of offering: executions, tax sales and tax resales. You bid by holding your bidder card up where the constable can see it, and you can bid on several properties and in several precincts.

The minimum bid is the lower of the appraisal district's market value at the time of judgment, or everything owed under the judgment (tax, penalty, interest and attorney fees) plus court costs, title search, the constable's fee, posting, publication and any sales fee. The constable sets it before the sale and announces it there. A property that draws no minimum bid is struck off to the taxing unit and is usually offered again at a later sale, as a resale with a lower minimum. Harris County itself generally does not sell struck-off property privately, though some taxing units in the county do.

Payment is due at the moment of sale, in cash or certified funds made out to the selling constable precinct; you cannot leave to go to the bank and come back. Overpayments are refunded. All sales are final, and the constable's or sheriff's deed arrives in four to six weeks. Once you have the recorded deed, it is your job to file it with the Harris Central Appraisal District to change the owner on the tax rolls.

What the deed does not clear

The sale is "as is, where is", with no warranty on condition or title. The deed conveys the interest the defendants in the tax suit held and extinguishes the tax liens in the judgment (Tax Code § 34.01(n), (q)). It does not clear other liens or judgments that were not part of the case, and you owe every tax that came due after the judgment: these post-judgment taxes are not in the minimum bid. Read the judgment and search the county clerk's records before you bid.

Redemption: 180 days or two years, plus 25%

Most properties sold at the sale can still be redeemed (Tax Code § 34.21). For a residence homestead or land designated for agricultural use, the former owner has two years from the day your deed is recorded; the price is your bid, the recording fee, the taxes you paid and your allowable costs, plus 25% in the first year or 50% in the second. For any other property the window is 180 days and the premium cannot exceed 25%.

An owner who cannot find you, or cannot agree with you on the amount, can file a redemption affidavit and pay the redemption amount to the tax assessor-collector. The office then issues a receipt for redemption, and you are told the money is waiting. Keep your address current with the tax office. Statewide rules are on our Texas page.

Excess proceeds go to the district clerk

When a property sells for more than the judgment, the extra money is paid to the clerk of the court. The Harris County District Clerk sends a certified letter to the former owner within 31 days if the amount is over $25, and releases the money only on a court order signed by the presiding judge. Claims must be filed before the second anniversary of the sale (Tax Code §§ 34.03, 34.04). A lawyer's fee for recovering excess proceeds is capped at 25% or $1,000, whichever is less, and a non-lawyer may not charge a fee at all. The other Texas counties selling on November 3 are on our November 3 Texas list.

Four ways people lose money here

1. 1. Showing up without a bidder card

   Registration with the tax office is required and must be renewed every year. Do it online before the sale and pick the card up at will call.

2. 2. Planning to pay later in the day

   Payment is due when the property is sold to you, in cash or certified funds payable to the constable precinct.

3. 3. Leaving post-judgment taxes out of your price

   Taxes that came due after the judgment are not in the minimum bid and become yours.

4. 4. Bidding through a friend

   The deed goes to the name on the bidder card. Agents must register each bidder-owner and show written authority.