There is still time to choose what happens next.

A plain guide to foreclosure for homeowners in Williamson, Bell, and Travis counties, Texas. Free help first. Us last.

If your sale date is close, skip everything and call the free hotline below before you read further.

01 Free help first

People you can call today who don't want to buy your house.

Everything in this section is free, confidential, and paid for by government or nonprofit money. Nobody on these lines earns a thing from what you decide. Start here, even if you end up calling us later.

Talk it through with a counselor

Free, confidential, HUD-approved foreclosure counseling. Counselors can pull your loan details, explain every option, and file servicer applications with you.

HOPE Hotline, answers around the clock
888-995-4673 The national Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline. Free, in English and Spanish, any hour.
HUD housing counselor locator
(800) 569-4287 Finds a HUD-approved counseling agency near you if you want to sit with someone local.

Behind on property taxes

Every county tax office signs payment plans on delinquent taxes, and homesteads get extra protection. Ask for a delinquent tax installment agreement.

Williamson County Tax Office
(512) 943-1601
Travis County Tax Office
(512) 854-9473 Takes installment plan applications over the phone, weekdays 8 to 5.
Tax Appraisal District of Bell County
(254) 939-5841 Bell CAD collects property taxes for Bell County and its cities.

Free legal help

TexasLawHelp.org explains Texas foreclosure step by step and lists the legal aid organizations serving your county. If a sale date is set, a lawyer should see your papers.

Texas legal aid directory
TexasLawHelp.org
02 The Texas clock

What actually happens, and by when.

Texas forecloses faster than almost any other state, but every step arrives as a letter with a date on it. Your letters control your exact dates; this is the standard shape.

  1. Days 1 to 119

    Missed payments

    For most home loans, federal rules keep a foreclosure from even starting until you are more than 120 days behind. This is the wide part of the funnel: every option on this page is still open. Call your servicer and say the words “loss mitigation.”

  2. 20 days or more

    Notice of default

    A letter gives you at least 20 days to catch up before the loan is called due in full. Texas law requires it for a home. Catching up inside this window ends the foreclosure entirely.

  3. 21 days or more

    Notice of sale

    The sale date is set. Texas requires at least 21 days of notice: posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk, and mailed to you. Options narrow here, but reinstating, selling, or filing Chapter 13 can each still stop the sale.

  4. First Tuesday

    The auction

    Mortgage foreclosure sales in Texas happen on the first Tuesday of the month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., at your county’s designated location. After a completed mortgage sale there is generally no way to undo it.

  5. After a tax sale

    A different clock

    Property tax foreclosures run through a court, and the door stays open after the sale: you can redeem a homestead for up to two years, and other property for 180 days, by paying the buyer a premium.

One date worth circling: a complete application for help, filed with your servicer more than 37 days before the sale, generally pauses the sale while it is reviewed. A HUD counselor can file it with you the same week you call.

03

Six ways this goes from here. Four of them keep the house.

Read them in order. Selling to a company like ours is number six on purpose.

  1. 01 Catch it up

    Catch it up

    You keep the house
    What it is
    Pay the missed payments and fees in one amount, called reinstatement. The foreclosure ends and the loan continues as if it never slipped.
    When it fits
    Money is genuinely coming: a tax refund, family help, an insurance or legal settlement, a first paycheck after a gap.
    Who to call first
    Your loan servicer. Ask for a written reinstatement quote that is good through a specific date.
  2. 02 Restructure it

    Restructure it

    You keep the house
    What it is
    A loan modification, forbearance, or repayment plan spreads the missed amount out or moves it to the end of the loan.
    When it fits
    The hardship was temporary and income is back, but the past-due lump is too big to clear at once.
    Who to call first
    A HUD counselor first. They prepare the application with you for free, and a complete application filed early enough pauses the sale while it is reviewed.
  3. 03 Put the taxes on a plan

    Put the taxes on a plan

    You keep the house
    What it is
    County tax offices sign installment agreements on delinquent property taxes. On a homestead, an agreement freezes the worst of the penalty climb.
    When it fits
    The mortgage is fine or paid off and property taxes are the problem.
    Who to call first
    Your county tax office. All three numbers are in the free help section above.
  4. 04 Use the legal tools

    Use the legal tools

    You keep the house
    What it is
    A Chapter 13 bankruptcy stops a sale the moment it is filed and gives you up to five years to catch up. A lawyer may also find defects in the foreclosure itself.
    When it fits
    The sale date is close, you have steady income, and you want to keep the home.
    Who to call first
    A bankruptcy attorney, or the legal aid groups listed at TexasLawHelp.org. Many first consultations cost nothing.
  5. 05 Sell on the open market

    Sell on the open market

    You sell the house
    What it is
    List with an agent, pay off the debt at closing, and keep the remaining equity. Usually the most money of any option on this page.
    When it fits
    You have equity, the house shows reasonably well, and the sale date is at least a month or two out.
    Who to call first
    A local agent, this week. A foreclosure only stops when your sale closes, so the calendar decides whether this door is open.
  6. 06 Sell it directly, to us or anyone

    Sell it directly, to us or anyone

    You sell the house
    What it is
    A direct sale to an investor: as-is, on your schedule, closing in days instead of months. You will almost always net less than an open-market sale.
    When it fits
    Time or condition rules out listing, and certainty is worth more to you than the difference in price.
    Who to call first
    More than one direct buyer, including us. Compare written offers. Anyone who pressures you is answering the question for you.
04

Where Otaku Holdings fits, and where we don't.

We buy houses directly from their owners in Williamson, Bell, and Travis counties. As-is, no fees or commissions, closing on the date you pick. That is the whole business.

Otaku Holdings has been owned and run by Quincey Jackson since 2022. When you write to us, that is who reads it and that is who answers.

When we're the right call

  • The timeline is measured in days or weeks, not months.
  • The house needs work you don't want to fund or manage.
  • You've read the six options above and picked this one on purpose.

When we're plainly not

  • You want to keep the home. Start with the HOPE Hotline and a counselor.
  • You have equity and time. Listing with an agent will almost always net you more.
  • You haven't talked to anyone else yet. Get a second number before you take ours.

If you write to us and one of the other five options fits better, we'll say so.

05

Fair questions.

Can I stop a Texas foreclosure without selling my house?

Often, yes. Reinstatement, a loan modification, a property tax payment plan, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy all end or pause a foreclosure while you keep the home. They are options one through four on this page, and a HUD counselor can walk you through each for free.

How fast can a foreclosure happen in Texas?

Texas is one of the fastest states. After the required notices, at least 20 days to catch up and then at least 21 days of sale notice, a home can be sold on the first Tuesday of a month. Most owners have more room than that, because federal rules generally keep a foreclosure from starting until the loan is more than 120 days behind.

What does a HUD-approved housing counselor cost?

Nothing. Foreclosure counseling through the HOPE Hotline at 888-995-4673 is free, funded by HUD and nonprofit partners, and available around the clock in English and Spanish.

Will Otaku Holdings pay what my house would bring on the market?

No, and no direct buyer will. A direct sale trades some price for speed and certainty. If you have equity and time, listing with an agent usually nets more, and this page says so plainly because it is true.

What happens to money left over after a foreclosure auction?

If the auction brings in more than the debt and costs, the surplus belongs to you. In a tax foreclosure the excess proceeds are held by the court for you to claim. Be careful with anyone charging a large fee to recover money you can claim yourself; a legal aid lawyer can help with the paperwork.

Whatever you choose, choose on purpose.

Quincey Jackson

Owner, Otaku Holdings

A note, not a pitch

Tell us what's going on.

A few lines about the house and the situation is plenty. We'll reply with which of the six options we'd look at first, and we'll say plainly if we're not the right call. One way to reach you is enough.

Phone or email, whichever you prefer. One is enough.