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Calculator · Tex. Prop. Code §51.002

The Foreclosure Clock

Texas forecloses on a schedule set by statute: 20 days to cure, 21 days' notice, and a sale on the first Tuesday of the month. Put in your dates and see the earliest day a sale could happen — and every deadline before it.

Most homes with a regular mortgage get one more protection: federal rules bar the first foreclosure notice until you're more than 120 days behind. The clock shows both.

Where are things right now?

Usually the 1st of a month. The federal 120-day count starts on this date.

Your dates

Earliest possible sale

Tuesday, March 2, 2027

143 days from today · between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the county courthouse

The deadlines

  1. Thu, Oct 1, 20269 days agoFirst missed payment Delinquency starts on the due date (12 CFR §1024.31).
  2. Fri, Oct 2, 20268 days agoEarliest notice of default Certified mail. Service is complete the day it's mailed (§51.002(e)).
  3. Sat, Oct 10, 2026Today
  4. Wed, Oct 21, 2026in 11 daysEarliest end of the 20-day cure period You can catch up through this day. The mailing day counts as day 1 (§51.002(d)).
  5. Sat, Jan 30, 2027in 112 daysEarliest notice of sale The federal 120-day rule sets this date: it's the first day you're more than 120 days behind (12 CFR §1024.41(f)). Then it must be posted at the courthouse door, filed with the county clerk and sent by certified mail — at least 21 days before the sale (§51.002(b)).
  6. Tue, Mar 2, 2027in 143 daysEarliest sale day First Tuesday of the month (first Wednesday if that Tuesday is January 1 or July 4), between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. It must start within 3 hours of the time in the notice (§51.002(a), (a-1), (c)).

If it's not that day, the next sale days are: Tue, Apr 6, 2027 · Tue, May 4, 2027 · Tue, Jun 1, 2027

  • Many deeds of trust give 30 days to cure, not 20. If your letter gives you longer, your real dates are later than these.

This is a calendar, not legal advice — a HUD-approved counselor is free: 888-995-HOPE.

How we figured this
  • Day counting comes straight from Tex. Prop. Code §51.002. The 20-day cure period counts the day the default notice is mailed and not the day the notice of sale is given (§51.002(d)). The 21-day notice counts the day the notice of sale is given and not the sale day (§51.002(g)).
  • Mailing: certified-mail service is complete when the notice goes in the mail (§51.002(e)), so every count starts on the mailing date. If you only know the day a letter arrived, we assume it was mailed a week earlier, so the dates err early.
  • Roll-forward: the earliest date is moved to the next lawful sale day — the first Tuesday of a month, or the first Wednesday when that Tuesday is January 1 or July 4 (§51.002(a), (a-1)). No other holiday moves a sale.
  • No letters yet: we assume the default notice could be mailed the day after the missed payment was due. That's the fastest case, not the usual one.
  • The 20-day cure notice is required on property used as your residence (§51.002(d)). On a rental the statute doesn't require one — the deed of trust sets that step — so there the real earliest dates can come sooner than these.
  • The federal 120-day rule (12 CFR §1024.41(f)) applies to mortgage loans on your principal residence, including small servicers (§1024.41(j)). It doesn't cover home-equity lines of credit, and reverse mortgages, Farm Credit lenders and homes you don't live in are outside these servicing rules (§§1024.30–.31). It also doesn't apply when the foreclosure is for violating a due-on-sale clause or the servicer is joining another lienholder's foreclosure. Delinquency starts on the due date of the unpaid payment (§1024.31).
  • Texas home-equity (cash-out) loans can be foreclosed only with a court order (Tex. Const. art. XVI, §50(a)(6)(D)), and so can many reverse mortgages (§50(k)(11)). This calendar doesn't count court time.

If there's equity, selling before that Tuesday usually beats losing it at auction. You'll get cash, list and creative in writing within 24 hours.

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Before the sale day

What can change these dates

  • Catching up Paying what's past due, plus fees, puts the loan back on track. Your deed of trust says how close to the sale you can still do it. Ask the servicer for a written reinstatement quote with a good-through date.
  • A complete loss-mitigation application On a covered loan, a complete application sent before the notice of sale generally keeps the servicer from starting until it decides. Sent more than 37 days before a sale, it generally stops the sale until it decides (12 CFR §1024.41(f)(2), (g); small servicers follow narrower rules). A housing counselor can help you put one together.
  • Selling first If there's equity, a closing before the sale day pays off the loan and the rest is yours. We never say we'll “handle the bank” — we'll tell you exactly what we can and can't do, with three written numbers.

Sources

  1. Texas Property Code §51.002 (current text)
  2. 12 CFR §1024.41 — loss mitigation procedures, (f) the 120-day rule
  3. 12 CFR §1024.30 — scope
  4. 12 CFR §1024.31 — definitions (delinquency)
  5. Texas Constitution art. XVI, §50 (home equity and reverse mortgages)
  6. HUD — Avoiding foreclosure (HOPE Hotline and counselor search)

Statutes and regulations checked October 5, 2026.