Can I sell my DFW house with code violations or a demolition order?

What a city can do to a substandard house

Texas lets each city adopt standards for buildings that are “dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation and a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare,” and enforce them after notice and a public hearing (Local Government Code §214.001(a) and (b)).

Step	What it means for you	§214.001
Order after a hearing	The city can order the house vacated, secured, repaired, removed or demolished	(a)
Time to comply	Usually 30 days, unless you show at the hearing that the work can’t reasonably be done that fast	(h)
The city does it	If the order isn’t followed, the city can secure, remove or demolish the building itself	(m)
The city’s lien	The city can bill its costs and record a lien on the property, unless it’s a homestead the Texas Constitution protects	(n)
Where the lien ranks	With proper notice to lienholders, ahead of the mortgage and behind only tax liens	(o)

The clock is short, and every step the city takes adds to what has to be paid at closing. Selling before the city does the work keeps its costs off your closing statement.

Your three numbers with a code case open

Path	What it takes	When it usually wins
Cash, as-is	We take the house with the open case and the repair list	The deadline is close, the repairs are big, or the house is vacant
Fix, then list	Make the repairs, get the city to close the case, then list	You have the cash and the time the order allows
Creative: fix-then-list	We front the repairs and get repaid at closing	You want the list price without fronting the work

Any recorded city lien, fines and back taxes come out of the price at closing, so each number on the sheet is what you’d actually keep.

What we need from you

Send us the notice or order, the case number and the hearing date if there is one. We check what the city has recorded, price the repairs it’s asking for, and tell you whether selling as-is or fixing first nets more. An as-is sale still comes with the seller’s disclosure in most sales (Property Code §5.008), so tell the buyer about the open case. We buy knowing it.

Questions people ask

Can I sell a house with an open code violation?

Yes. The problems don’t go away with the sale, and if the city filed notice of the hearing in the county records, that notice binds the buyer (§214.001(e)). So the buyer has to be willing to take it on after closing, and the price reflects the work.

What if the city already put a lien on the house?

It gets paid from the sale at closing, like any other recorded lien. The title company finds it in the title search.

Can the city really tear down my house?

After notice and a hearing, yes, if you don’t comply with its order (§214.001(m)). Go to the hearing, and if you can’t finish the work in 30 days, that’s the place to show why (§214.001(h)).

Do you buy houses that have been condemned or red-tagged?

Yes. We price what it would take to bring it back, or to clear the lot, and show you both.