Travis County

Two registrations, and one of them closes early

Bidding takes two separate sign-ups, and the tax office warns that missing either one keeps you out. First, register on the Travis County RealAuction site. That is where you choose the name that will appear on the Constable's Deed and get your bidder number. Second, file the tax office's Bidder Registration online with a $10 fee at least five business days before the sale: by Tuesday, October 27 for the November 3 sale and by Tuesday, November 24 for December 1. A Spanish version of the form is available.

The tax office then checks your eligibility and emails you once you are approved; after that, your RealAuction bidder number works. Approval lasts a year, so one registration covers every monthly sale in that time. The check is not a formality. Anyone who owes back taxes on any property in Travis County cannot bid, and Texas law bars the officer from delivering a deed unless the buyer shows an unexpired statement from the county assessor-collector that they owe no delinquent taxes to the county, or to any school district or city in it (Tax Code § 34.015). The deed can be made out only to the person who won the bid.

The list, the minimum bid and the other tax years

The property list goes up on RealAuction about 15 days before each sale, which puts the November list around October 19. Properties with buildings come with photos; raw land does not. The tax office does not arrange visits and knows nothing about the condition of a property, its tenants or any animals on it. If you go onto a property, it is at your own risk.

The minimum bid is the tax, penalties and interest, attorney fees and court fees for the years used to foreclose. Other delinquent years that were not part of the lawsuit are not in that figure; they show in the sales list as "Additional Taxes Due", and the tax office says taxes, penalties, interest, court costs and foreclosure expenses up to the time of sale are the buyer's responsibility. Every property is sold as is, with no warranty of any kind, and the county is only trying to collect its tax debt, so other liens may still be attached.

The tax office's one-page Bidder's Basic Guide is the research checklist. For each property it asks for the parcel and cause numbers, whether it is a homestead or agricultural land (which sets a six-month or two-year redemption period), any additional tax years owed, and every non-tax lien, with a note on whether it was included in the tax lawsuit. If a lien has not been released, the guide sends you to the District Clerk's office, and it asks whether you have read the judgment itself.

How the online sale runs

Texas lets a commissioners court move these sales online (Tax Code § 34.01(a-1)), and Travis County's sales run on RealAuction. The tax office's own pages do not set out deposit or payment terms; asked how a sale works, it points bidders to RealAuction's training and to the FAQ on the Travis site, so read both before your first sale. The tax office mails receipts a few weeks after each sale.

Do not confuse these sales with other foreclosures: sales unrelated to delinquent taxes are listed by the Travis County Clerk, not the tax office. Properties that get no bid at a tax sale are offered again later as resales, also through RealAuction. The sale in brief is in our Market Pulse note.

What the Constable's Deed gives you

Within four weeks of the sale the tax office mails the buyer a Constable's Deed. It is not a warranty deed. It conveys only the ownership that the defendants in the tax lawsuit held, and it confirms that the property is free of tax liens for the years in that lawsuit. Taxes for other years may still be due.

The redemption clock and the 25% or 50% premium

The former owner can buy the property back from you (Tax Code § 34.21). For a residence homestead, land designated for agricultural use or a mineral interest, the window is two years from the day your deed is filed for record. The owner pays what you bid, the deed recording fee, and the taxes, penalties, interest and costs you paid on the property, plus a premium of 25% of that total in the first year or 50% in the second. For any other property, the window is 180 days and the premium cannot exceed 25%.

Take a $40,000 winning bid on a rental house, redeemed three months after your deed is recorded. You get back the $40,000, the recording fee and any taxes you paid, plus 25% of all of that: at least $10,000 more.

"Costs" has a fixed meaning. It covers what you reasonably spend to maintain and protect the property, such as insurance, repairs required by code or by an existing lease, city liens for health or safety work, owners' association dues, and impact or standby fees. The owner can ask in writing for an itemized list, which you must deliver within ten days, and only costs on that list count. During the redemption period the former owner has no right to use or occupy the property or to collect its rents, and cannot sell the right to redeem to anyone else. An owner who cannot find you can redeem by paying the county assessor-collector instead, so keep your address current.

Excess proceeds: a court petition within two years

When a property sells for more than the judgment, the extra money goes to the registry of the court. The clerk keeps it for two years after the sale and, if it is more than $25, must notify the former owner within 31 days of receiving it (Tax Code § 34.03). To claim it, you file a petition in the court that ordered the sale before the second anniversary of the sale. The tax office's FAQ points lienholders to the Travis County District Clerk for these petitions and for records of what each property sold for.

The court pays claims in a fixed order (§ 34.04). First comes the buyer, if the sale was declared void. Then the taxing units for taxes that came due after the judgment, then other lienholders by priority, then the taxing units for any part of the judgment left unpaid, and finally the former owners who were defendants, their close relatives or their heirs. No interest or costs are paid. Anyone buying a former owner's claim must wait until the 36th day after the money is deposited, may not solicit it in person or by phone, and must pay at least 80% of the claim up front. Statewide rules are on our Texas page.

Four ways people lose money here

1. 1. Registering only on RealAuction

   Without the tax office's approval, a RealAuction bidder number is useless. For the November 3 sale the tax office registration closes on October 27.

2. 2. Bidding while you owe Travis County taxes

   Any delinquent tax on any of your properties in the county makes you ineligible, and Texas law stops the officer from delivering a deed to you.

3. 3. Ignoring "Additional Taxes Due"

   Years not used in the lawsuit are not in the minimum bid, and the Constable's Deed does not clear them. Add them to your price.

4. 4. Renovating before the window closes

   Only listed costs such as insurance and code-required repairs come back on redemption. An upgrade made during the 180 days or two years is money you may not recover.