A Kaufman County sheriff sale is an online public auction, held on the first Tuesday of each month and closing at 4:00 p.m., where properties with delinquent taxes are sold to the highest bidder.1Kaufman County. Tax Sales/Auctions The minimum opening bid starts at the taxes owed plus accrued interest, penalties, and sale costs, and the Sheriff’s Office conducts the sale after a court orders the property foreclosed.
When and Where the Auction Happens
Kaufman County no longer holds its tax sales on the courthouse steps. The Sheriff’s Office contracts with RealForeclose, powered by Realauction.com, to run the registration and bidding.1Kaufman County. Tax Sales/Auctions Sales still fall on the first Tuesday of each month, starting at 10:00 a.m. and closing at 4:00 p.m., but only when properties are listed. If nothing is scheduled for that month, no sale takes place.
To participate, register on the RealForeclose site, pay the online deposit, and complete the required forms through the platform. Once listings go up, registered bidders can research parcels and place proxy bids before sale day.1Kaufman County. Tax Sales/Auctions
The minimum opening bid is set at the lesser of the property’s market value as stated in the judgment or the total amount of judgments against the property, including all costs of suit and sale.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 33.50 – Adjudged Value A person who owns an interest in the property or was a party to the tax suit, other than a taxing unit, can only purchase as the highest bidder and only if their bid meets or exceeds the aggregate judgment amount.
What You Need Before You Bid
A Written Statement of No Delinquent Taxes
Before you can receive a deed for anything you win, you need an unexpired written statement from the Kaufman County Tax Assessor-Collector confirming you do not owe delinquent taxes to the county or to any school district or municipality with territory in the county.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 34.015 – Persons Eligible to Purchase Real Property Without it, the officer conducting the sale cannot legally execute or deliver the deed.
You request the statement by submitting a sworn, signed application listing all real property you currently or formerly owned that is subject to taxation by the county or by a taxing unit inside it. The assessor-collector checks your name against current and cumulative delinquent tax rolls, may charge up to $10 for the statement, and the statement expires 90 days after issuance.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 34.015 – Persons Eligible to Purchase Real Property The Texas Comptroller publishes Form 50-307 for this purpose.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Request for Written Statement About Delinquent Taxes for Tax Foreclosure Sale
Due Diligence on the Property
Every property sold at a tax foreclosure sale is sold as-is, with no warranties of any kind. The county makes no promises about condition, habitability, zoning compliance, floodplain status, or value. You investigate everything yourself: outstanding post-judgment taxes, pending code enforcement actions, road access, and any environmental or structural concerns visible from the outside.
You will not have authorized access to the interior of an occupied property before the sale. Drive by, pull the tax records, read the legal description carefully, and search for additional liens. Most tax sale buyers who lose money bid on a property they’ve never seen up close and discover problems that cost more to fix than the property is worth.
Getting and Recording the Sheriff’s Deed
After the auction closes and payment clears, the Sheriff’s Office prepares a Sheriff’s Deed transferring the former owner’s interest to you. The process typically takes 10 to 30 days. The deed conveys only whatever interest the former owner had. It is not a general warranty deed, and nothing in it guarantees clean title.
Take the deed to the Kaufman County Clerk’s Office and file it for recording. Under Texas law, the base statutory fee for recording a real property document is $5 for the first page and $4 for each additional page, plus county fees for records management and preservation that vary by jurisdiction.5State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code LOC GOVT 118.011 – Fee Schedule Total recording fees in Kaufman County run higher than that base once all required surcharges are added, so check the current schedule before filing.6Kaufman County, TX. Land and Vital Recording Fee Schedule Record promptly. The redemption clock starts on the date the deed is filed for record, not the date of the auction.
How Long the Former Owner Can Redeem
Texas gives former property owners the right to buy the property back after a tax sale, and that right is the single biggest risk factor for buyers. How long they have depends on what the property was used for when the tax suit was filed, not on sale day. A property that was a homestead two years before auction but sat vacant on sale day still gets the longer redemption period.
Homestead, Agricultural, and Mineral Property: Two Years
If the property was the former owner’s residence homestead, was designated for agricultural use, or was a mineral interest, the former owner can redeem it within two years of the date your deed is filed for record. To redeem, they pay you the full bid price, the deed recording fee, and any taxes, penalties, interest, and costs you have paid since the sale. On top of that aggregate total, they owe a redemption premium of 25% if they redeem in the first year or 50% in the second year.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 34 – Tax Sales and Redemption
All Other Property: 180 Days
Commercial property, vacant land not designated for agricultural use, and other non-homestead property carries a 180-day redemption window from the date the deed is filed for record. The same payment formula applies, but the redemption premium caps at 25% regardless of when within those 180 days the former owner acts.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 34 – Tax Sales and Redemption
Federal Tax Liens Can Survive the Sale
If the former owner owed federal taxes and the IRS had filed a tax lien against the property, the sale does not automatically wipe that lien out. When notice of the federal tax lien was filed more than 30 days before the sale and the IRS was not given written notice at least 25 days before the sale date, the property remains subject to the federal lien even after the auction.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7425 – Discharge of Liens
Even when the sale properly discharges the federal lien, the IRS keeps a separate right to redeem the property within 120 days of the sale date or the period allowed under Texas law, whichever is longer.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7425 – Discharge of Liens For homestead properties the state’s two-year window already covers it. For a commercial parcel with only 180 days, the IRS effectively has the same full window. Search the federal tax lien index for the property before bidding.
Title Insurance Will Be Hard to Get
Even after the redemption period expires, obtaining title insurance on a tax sale property is difficult. Most title companies in Texas will not insure a tax sale property for at least two years after the deed is recorded, regardless of whether the redemption period was 180 days or two years. Anyone with an equitable interest who was not properly notified of the sale can contest it in court, and title companies want to see that window close before taking on the risk.
Without title insurance, selling the property or financing it with a mortgage becomes very hard. Plan to hold a tax sale property with cash for two to four years before expecting conventional title insurance. Filing a quiet title action can speed things up but adds legal costs and its own timeline.
Excess Proceeds Don’t Go to You
If a property sells for more than the debt owed, the surplus does not go to the buyer. It enters a court-supervised distribution process in which taxing units, lienholders, and former owners can petition for their share.9State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 34.04 – Claims for Excess Proceeds Your winning bid buys the property, and that’s the end of your financial side of the transaction.
If the Property Is Occupied
Some tax sale properties are still occupied, by the former owner or by tenants. You cannot change the locks and take possession. Texas law requires formal eviction.
If the property was a rental with existing tenants who have been paying rent and are not otherwise in default, you must give at least 30 days’ written notice to vacate if you choose not to continue the lease.10State of Texas. Texas Property Code PROP 24.005 – Notice to Vacate For holdover occupants without a lease, the general rule is a minimum three-day written notice before you can file an eviction suit. Notice can be delivered in person, posted to the door, or sent by mail.
If the occupant refuses to leave, you file a forcible detainer action in justice court. Court filing fees and constable service fees typically run a few hundred dollars total, and the process from filing to a writ of possession can take several weeks. Budget for this before you bid on anything that looks occupied.