Procedures to Obtain a Tax Foreclosed Property

There are two (2) ways to purchase property from the City of Baytown. One way is to pay the total amount of taxes, penalties, interest, and court costs owed to the taxing entities. The other method is to purchase the property at a public auction. Please follow the steps listed below if you are interested in a particular property.

1. Call the attorney for the City of Baytown, Randall B. Strong, at 281-428-2200 to determine the approximate judgment payoff on the property you wish to acquire.
2. Investigate the title to the property to determine if there are any post judgment taxes or liens on the property. The City does not warrant title to the property.
3. Decide if you want to purchase the property at a private sale for the judgment payoff amount.
4. If yes, go to step 5. If no, but you want to try and bid on that property at an auction, skip to step 11.
5. Request a judgment payoff as to the taxes from Randall B. Strong. We will obtain payoffs from the City, County, and School District.
6. Our office will contact you with the total payoff once these amounts have been determined.
7. Purchase a cashier’s check for the total payoff amount made payable to Randall B. Strong, and deliver it to our office at 407 W. Baker Road, Suite T,  Baytown, Texas 77521.
8. Mr. Strong will 1) prepare a Deed Without Warranty, 2) have it signed by the Mayor of Baytown, and 3) send it to you.
9. Record this Deed with the County Clerk at P.O. Box 1525, Houston, Texas 77251. The County Clerk will charge you $20 to $24 dollars, depending on the number of pages of the deed.
10. Prepare and mail a name change form to the Harris County Appraisal District, Records Maintenance Division, P.O. Box 922010, Houston, Texas 77292-2010. You can obtain the necessary forms at the City Tax Office. Congratulations! The property is now yours!
11. If you have decided to try and purchase the property at auction, deposit $575.00 with Randall B. Strong’s office to start the auction process, which takes anywhere from 4 to 6 months from the date of your deposit. This deposit will be refunded as long as someone, either yourself or a third party, bids on and purchases the property at the auction.
12. Randall B. Strong’s office will notify you of the date, time and place of auction. Auctions are usually held on the first Tuesday of each month at the Family Law Center in Houston.
13. The auction will be conducted by a Harris County Constable on the scheduled date. You must be present, and you must follow the procedures set by the Constable.
14. You must have the total amount of your bid, in either cash or cashier’s check, with you at the time of the sale.
15. After the auction the Constable will prepare a Constable’s Deed and send it to you.
16. Record this Deed with the County Clerk at P.O. Box 1525, Houston, Texas 77251. The County Clerk will charge you $10 to $15 dollars, depending on the number of pages of the deed.
17. Prepare and mail a name change form to the Harris County Appraisal District, Records Maintenance Division, P.O. Box 922010, Houston, Texas 77292-2010. You can obtain the necessary forms at the City Tax Office. Congratulations! The property is now yours!

The auction process only removes the tax years and liens under the original judgment. You will need to check with each taxing entity on the amount of post judgment taxes, if any. You will be required to pay these post judgment taxes in addition to the bid amount. However, post judgment taxes are not required to be paid on the day of the auction. You may be able to enter into a payment plan for post judgment taxes. If a title policy is desired, you will have to obtain this on your own, regardless of which purchase procedure you follow.

Delinquent Tax Foreclosure List

Current as of May 6, 2010

Following is a list of delinquent tax foreclosure properties by the City of Baytown. Clicking on the designated account number will take you to the Harris County Appraisal District description of the property (if available).