Houston County, TX tax sales

County offices

County notes

• •Delinquency and fee schedule stated by the county: "If not paid by February 1st of the following year, penalty is added and accrues each month. On July 1st, a 20% attorney's fee is added." The tax office property page adds that taxes still delinquent on July 1 "may incur an additional penalty to defray costs of collection."
• •Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott is the delinquent-tax law firm Houston County directs bidders to for the sale list. Its FAQ also confirms the deed requirement statewide: a bidder must obtain "a written statement from the county tax assessor-collector stating that the bidder has no delinquent taxes due," and notes "Sales are for cash, and most counties will accept cash or cashier's checks."
• •The same FAQ states redemption runs "two years for homestead property, agriculture use property and mineral interests and 180 days on all other types of property," consistent with Tax Code 34.21.
• •Houston County Sheriff's Office: 700A South 4th Street, Crockett, TX 75835, phone 936-544-2862, fax 936-544-8061, email hcso@co.houston.tx.us. Its county web page carries no tax sale notices or sale lists.
• •The county's Public Notices calendar page is effectively unused (its only entry is a 2022 "Light box demo" test item), so it is not a reliable place to look for sale notices.
• •Contact details differ slightly between sites: the main county site lists the Tax Assessor-Collector at 401 East Goliad, Crockett, TX 75835, phone 936-544-3255 ext. 258, hours 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; the tax office site lists Suite 101, tax department extensions 263 and 278, and hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Use the tax office site for sale matters.
• •Officeholder discrepancy to verify before publishing a name: the May 2025 bidder registration form is issued over "James Angerstein, Tax Assessor-Collector" while both the county site and the tax office contact page list Brittani Womack. No officeholder name is asserted in the sale record.
• •Property search and payment portal: https://esearch.houstoncountytaxoffice.com/ (linked from the tax office site; not independently fetched).
• •The tax office site has no dedicated tax sale landing page. Its full page sitemap contains only the pre-registration notice post plus the registration form PDF and the outbound list link, so those three are the county's complete official sale surface.

Texas rules

Redemption

The redemption clock runs from the date the purchaser's deed is filed for record, not from the sale date. Property that was the owner's residence homestead or was land designated for agricultural use when the suit or the warrant application was filed, and any mineral interest, may be redeemed on or before the second anniversary of that filing. Every other property may be redeemed only through the 180th day after the deed is filed. When a parcel is struck off to a taxing unit instead, the period runs from the date the taxing unit's deed is filed for record. The former owner has no right to use, possess, or collect rent from the property while the redemption right runs, and the right of redemption cannot be sold or transferred: any instrument purporting to transfer it is void.Texas Tax Code 34.21 - Right of redemptionTex. Tax Code 34.21Verified Jul 25, 2026

Deed deposit

The Tax Code sets no statewide deposit and no buyer premium. Section 34.01 directs the officer to conduct the sale the way similar property is sold under execution, so payment terms are set locally by the officer who runs the sale. Most Texas counties collect the full bid in cash or by cashier's check on the day of the sale. Confirm the terms with the county before you bid.Texas Tax Code 34.01 - Sale of propertyTex. Tax Code 34.01Verified Jul 25, 2026

Homestead deeds

Texas sets no separate opening bid for a homestead. What changes on a homestead parcel is the exit: a residence homestead, land designated for agricultural use when the suit or warrant application was filed, and a mineral interest all carry a two-year redemption right instead of 180 days, and the premium the owner pays can reach 50 percent in the second year. Price a homestead parcel for that longer clock.Texas Tax Code 34.21 - Right of redemptionTex. Tax Code 34.21Verified Jul 25, 2026

Surplus proceeds

The officer pays any excess proceeds to the clerk of the court that issued the order of sale. The clerk holds the excess for two years after the sale and notifies the former owner when the amount exceeds $25. A claim must be filed before the second anniversary of the sale. The court pays established claims in statutory priority: a purchaser at a sale later adjudged void, taxing units for post-judgment or omitted taxes, other lienholders, taxing units for unsatisfied judgment amounts, and then the former owner. Anything unclaimed is distributed to the taxing units.Texas Tax Code 34.03 - Disposition of excess proceedsTex. Tax Code 34.03Verified Jul 25, 2026

Governing statute

Tex. Tax Code Chapter 34Texas Tax Code 34.01 - Sale of propertyTex. Tax Code 34.01Verified Jul 25, 2026

A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.

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