FACING FORECLOSURE IN EL PASO, TX

TWENTY-ONE DAYS IS THE WHOLE NOTICE

If you are behind on your mortgage, the most useful thing you can have is the clock. Texas moves faster than almost any other state — no court case, no judge, and no redemption period once a normal mortgage sale is done. Nearly everything that helps a homeowner happens before the sale date. Here is the timeline, stage by stage, so you can see where you actually are and how much time is left.

01YOU FALL BEHINDFederal rules generally stop a servicer from making the first foreclosure filing until the loan is about 120 days delinquent. That is not a grace period to wait out — it is the stretch in which loss-mitigation review, a modification, or a sale on your own terms are all still realistically possible. Call your servicer and ask, in writing, to be reviewed for loss mitigation.

02NOTICE OF DEFAULTBefore the debt can be accelerated on a home, the servicer must send written notice of default and give you at least 20 days to cure it — Texas Property Code §51.002(d). Ask for the exact reinstatement figure in writing; it is usually the arrears plus fees, not the whole loan. Most deeds of trust also set out a right to reinstate — read yours, it is your document.

03NOTICE OF SALEIf the default is not cured, notice of sale must be given at least 21 days before the sale date — filed with the county clerk, posted at the courthouse, and mailed to each debtor. Twenty-one days is the entire runway. If this notice has landed, this is the week to make calls, not the week to wait and see.

04FIRST TUESDAYThe auction is held between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month at the county courthouse (the first Wednesday if that Tuesday is January 1 or July 4). A normal Texas mortgage foreclosure carries no right of redemption — once it sells, it is sold. If the sale did not cover the debt the lender may pursue a deficiency, and §51.003 lets you ask the court to offset it against the home's fair market value.

If you are still before the sale date

What you can still do

Almost every real option in Texas lives before the first Tuesday, and every one of them needs weeks. The single most expensive mistake is waiting to see whether the sale really happens. It does. These are the routes, roughly in order of how much of your equity and credit they preserve:

Reinstate. Pay the arrears plus fees and the loan returns to normal. Ask the servicer for the figure in writing and for the date it is good through.

Loss mitigation — modification, forbearance, repayment plan. If the hardship was temporary or your income has changed permanently, these exist for exactly that. Request the review in writing and keep every reference number.

Sell before the sale date, if you have equity. This is the option people most often discover too late. A foreclosure sale takes the house and hands any surplus over slowly, if at all; selling it yourself keeps the equity, keeps the foreclosure off your record, and lets you choose the closing date. It needs weeks, which is why it has to be decided early rather than in the final ten days.

Short sale. If the home is worth less than the balance, the lender may approve a sale for less than what is owed. Slower to approve, but far better for your credit than a completed foreclosure.

Deed in lieu. Handing the property back by agreement. It ends the process without an auction, and the terms — including whether any deficiency is waived — are negotiated in writing.

Bankruptcy. A filing triggers an automatic stay that stops a scheduled sale. It is a serious step with long consequences and it belongs with a lawyer, not with a website — but you should know the option exists, because the sale date does not wait for you to find out.

Before you pay anyone

Free help that costs nothing to call

A HUD-approved housing counsellor will review your finances, explain your options and negotiate with your servicer for free. Foreclosure counselling is always free. Start here before you pay a company that promises to save your home.

HUD housing counsellor line — (800) 569-4287 · find a counsellor near you ↗

Homeowner's HOPE Hotline — (888) 995-HOPE (4673), 24/7, free and confidential.

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid — free civil legal help including foreclosure defence, with an El Paso office at 1331 Texas Ave. (833) 329-8752, weekdays 9–5.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — consumerfinance.gov/mortgagehelp ↗

A warning worth taking seriously. Foreclosure filings are public, so anyone in default gets targeted. Be sceptical of anyone who guarantees they can stop the foreclosure, asks for a fee up front, tells you to stop talking to your servicer, or asks you to sign over the deed. None of the free lines above will ever ask you for money.

Where a real estate agent fits — and where one doesn't

Only one of the routes above is a real estate transaction. If you have equity and time, selling is often the option that protects the most, and that is work I can do with you — pricing it honestly, moving quickly, and coordinating with your servicer's timeline. If reinstating, a modification, or legal defence is the better answer for you, the right call is a counsellor or a lawyer, and I will tell you that rather than talk you into a listing. There is no cost to a conversation about which one you are actually in.

How buying and selling works in El Paso →

General information about how Texas foreclosure works, current as of 2026 — not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a substitute for a lawyer. If you are facing foreclosure, talk to a Texas attorney or a HUD-approved housing counsellor. Statutory references: Texas Property Code §51.002 and §51.003.

The notice is not a warning.
It is the countdown.

TALK THROUGH YOUR OPTIONS