Tarrant County

November 3 on the courthouse steps

Sales are held on the 1895 Courthouse steps, 100 West Weatherford Street at Main Street, Fort Worth, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and the tax sales begin at 10. A deputy constable from Precinct 3, based at Southlake Town Square, runs them for the whole county. Bank foreclosures are a separate matter; this office does not handle them.

The constable posts a page per sale. The November 3 listing gives the cause number, the account number and the status of each tract, grouped under the two collection firms with cases that month, Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson and Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott. On October 10 it showed 29 accounts for sale, five of them royalty interests only, and six already withdrawn. Withdrawn tracts can stay on the list, so call 817-581-3610, option 2, before the sale. The account numbers lead to addresses on the tax office's account search and the appraisal district's site.

The sale notices are published once a week in the Fort Worth Commercial Recorder, which the constable calls the most convenient way to get the full list; there is no mailing list.

The two documents you need

The first is the bidder authorization, the written statement under Tax Code § 34.015 that you owe no delinquent taxes to the county or to any school district or city in it. You get it from the Tax Assessor-Collector's office on the first floor of the Tarrant County Administration Building, 100 East Weatherford Street, for $10, and the office says it takes about two weeks from request to issue. The constable cannot issue a deed without it; by law the statement expires 90 days after it is issued. For the November 3 sale, the realistic time to ask is now.

The second is the bidder registration. You can fill in the constable's form and bring it, or register online on the county's portal, uploading your authorization and identification. Registration must be done before 10 a.m.: since October 2016 the office accepts none after the sale starts. You must bid in person, and a relative or friend cannot bid for you, because Texas law forbids bidding in another person's name and the deed can only name the successful bidder. Someone buying for a company must bring the company's assumed-name certificate or franchise tax status with its officers, a signed letter on letterhead authorizing them, the company's own bidder authorization, and their ID.

Paying: exact amounts, within the hour

You have up to one hour after the sale to bring certified funds for the exact amount. The constable's sale page accepts cashier's checks and money orders made out to the Precinct 3 constable (its FAQ also lists cash), and suggests bringing cashier's checks in varied denominations because only exact funds are accepted. No wires, credit cards, traveler's checks, letters of credit or financing.

The constable then issues a "Constable's Deed to Individual in Delinquent Tax Suits" and sends it to the attorneys for the taxing unit, who file it with the county clerk. Print clearly on the registration form: the deed is typed from it, and redoing documents can cost extra. Every sale is as is, to the highest bidder, buyer beware, and appearing on the list gives no one permission to go onto the property.

When nobody bids, and after the sale

A tract that gets no bid is struck off: the taxing unit takes the deed, and what it does with the property is up to it. Withdrawn tracts, for bankruptcy, payment or a problem with the order of sale, are usually re-advertised by the attorneys for a later month. Results by month, marked sold, struck off or withdrawn, stay on the constable's page for 45 days; sale prices and buyers' names are available at the downtown courthouse once the deeds are filed.

The buyer takes the defendants' interest subject to the right of redemption (Tax Code § 34.21). For a residence homestead or agricultural land the former owner has two years from the recording of the deed, paying your bid, the recording fee, taxes and allowable costs plus 25% in the first year or 50% in the second; for other property, 180 days and up to 25%. The full rules are on our Texas page.

Excess proceeds

If a tract sells for more than the judgment, the extra goes into the registry of the court. The clerk must notify the former owner within 31 days if it is over $25, keeps it for two years, and pays claims filed by petition before the second anniversary of the sale (Tax Code §§ 34.03, 34.04). Tarrant County does not publish a list: the Criminal District Attorney's office sends each month's results, including excess proceeds held in the registry, in response to an open records request by email naming the month and year of the sale. The other Texas sales on November 3 are on our November 3 Texas list.

Four ways people lose money here

1. 1. Requesting the bidder authorization too late

   It takes about two weeks. Without it the constable will not issue your deed.

2. 2. Arriving after 10 a.m.

   Registrations close when the sale begins. Register online or bring the completed form early.

3. 3. Bringing one large cashier's check

   Only exact funds are accepted. Bring checks in several denominations, payable to the Precinct 3 constable.

4. 4. Trusting the list on sale morning

   Withdrawn tracts can stay on the list. Call the constable's office to check before you bid.