My DFW house is sitting empty and costing me money. Should I sell it?

What an empty house costs each month

An empty house still gets a tax bill, an insurance bill and a yard that grows. Your monthly total is what waiting costs.

Cost	What sets it	Where to find your number
Property taxes	Appraised value times the combined rate. At the 2025 combined rate in Dallas and Dallas ISD, a $300,000 house with no homestead exemption owes about $6,680 a year, or about $557 a month (property taxes guide)	Your county tax office bill
Insurance	Your premium, if the policy still covers the house empty (next section)	Your declarations page and the vacancy clause
Mortgage and HOA dues	Your loan and your association	Your statements
Utilities	Whatever you keep on	Your power and water bills
Yard and upkeep	Texas lets cities require owners to keep property free of weeds and brush (Health and Safety Code §342.004)	What you pay a crew, or what the city bills you

That last row is where vacant houses pick up city trouble. If you don’t fix a violation within seven days of notice, the city can do the work and charge it to you, and its notice can warn that if the same kind of violation, one that endangers public health and safety, happens again within a year, the city can fix it at your expense without another notice (Health and Safety Code §342.006). A house that falls far enough behind can get a repair or demolition order on a 30-day clock; see selling with code violations.

Insurance and the 60-day line

The Texas Department of Insurance says most companies stop your coverage if the house is vacant for 60 days or more. They usually don’t stop liability coverage. Most policies also don’t cover losses that happen once the house has been vacant for the number of days the policy names (TDI).

So a burst pipe or a break-in in month three may be yours to pay. Read your policy’s vacancy clause, and call your agent before day 60 to ask what keeps the house covered.

If someone moves in without permission

The 2025 Legislature created one Texas route and sped up the other. Which one fits depends on who the person is.

Route	When it fits	How it works	The law
Removal by the sheriff or constable	They entered without your consent, the house wasn’t open to the public, there’s no lawsuit between you, you told them to leave, and they aren’t a current or former tenant or your immediate family	You file a sworn complaint with the sheriff or constable in the county. The officer verifies you’re the record owner or the owner’s agent, then serves a notice to vacate immediately. You pay what the officer gets for executing a writ of possession	Property Code §§24B.001–24B.003, in effect since Sept. 1, 2025 (ch. 24B)
Eviction suit with summary disposition	They entered without your consent, but ch. 24B doesn’t fit, for example because a lawsuit between you is pending. A former tenant or a relative you let move in usually means a regular eviction suit for forcible detainer, with no summary disposition (§24.002)	A sworn petition in justice court alleging forcible entry and detainer can ask for judgment without a trial. The occupant has 4 days after service to respond with facts. If facts are genuinely disputed, trial is set 10 to 21 days after filing	Property Code §24.005106, for suits filed on or after Jan. 1, 2026 (SB 38)

Forcible entry and detainer means entering someone else’s property without legal authority and refusing to leave on demand (§24.001). After an eviction judgment, the writ of possession can’t issue before the sixth day, and the sheriff or constable has to serve it within five business days after it issues (§24.0061(b), (b-1)).

Two cautions. The ch. 24B complaint is sworn under penalty of perjury, and a person wrongly removed can sue for possession, actual damages, three times the fair market rent, court costs and attorney’s fees (§24B.005). And the officer verifies the record owner, so if the deed is still in a late parent’s name, ownership comes first. We don’t give legal advice; if the person says they rent or own the house, talk to a real estate attorney.

Your options, side by side

Option	When it usually wins	What it costs you
Move in, or let family use it	Someone needs a place to live soon	The bills stay, but the house isn’t empty anymore
Rent it out	You want to keep it, and the rent covers taxes, insurance and repairs	Make-ready, a tenant search, and being a landlord
List it	It shows well empty and you can carry it for the months a sale takes	Payments, taxes and insurance until closing, plus commission. J.D. is a licensed agent and can list it
Creative: fix-then-list	It needs work and you want a retail price	Nothing up front; we front the repairs and get repaid at closing
Cash, as-is	You want the bills to stop on a date you pick	The lowest of the three numbers; we close in about 10 days once title is clear

Cash is always the lowest of the three. The list number on the sheet is what you’d net after commission and a few months of carrying costs. If that beats our cash number by enough to be worth the wait, list it.

Why the house is empty changes the first step. If the owner died, someone has to prove who owns it before anyone can sign; start with selling an inherited house or selling a house in probate. If a parent moved to care, see selling a parent’s house for assisted living. If you moved for work, see relocating. If taxes are behind, see back property taxes.

Questions people ask

How do I sell a vacant house fast in Dallas–Fort Worth?

Get three written numbers, then pick a date. On the cash path we buy as-is and close in about 10 days once title is clear, on the date you choose. When RESE buys, J.D. buys for his own account or a company he controls and says so in writing before any contract.

Does homeowners insurance cover a vacant house in Texas?

Only for a while. TDI says most companies stop coverage once a house is vacant 60 days or more, though liability usually stays. Call your agent before day 60.

Someone is living in my empty house in Dallas. How do I get them out?

Tell them to leave. If they don’t and ch. 24B fits, file a sworn complaint with the Dallas County sheriff or a constable (§24B.002). If they rent or used to rent from you, or are family, the route is an eviction suit in justice court. If they show a lease you never signed, ch. 24B can still apply, but the complaint has you swear the lease is fraudulent. Talk to a real estate attorney before you do.

My house has been empty for a year and I’m paying for nothing. What do I do?

Start with what our sheet says you’d net from listing, after commission and a few months of carrying costs. If your own monthly taxes, insurance, utilities, yard care and any mortgage or HOA run higher than the sheet assumes, take the difference off. If what’s left still beats our cash number, list it. If not, or if you can’t keep it insured, cash may leave you with more.

Can I sell a vacant inherited house in Lancaster as-is?

Yes, once someone can prove who owns it now. We buy in Dallas County as-is, and the cash path closes in about 10 days once the title company says it can insure the sale.