How does an eviction in Texas work?

After a foreclosure, any residents still living in the home will more than likely be evicted, rather they were the homeowners or tenants living on the property. In some situations, the new property owner may allow a new lease with the tenants on the property, but many times the new owner will want to use the property as an investment and try to sell or live there himself.

A foreclosure only changes the ownership of the property to the highest bidder in the foreclosure auction. In and of itself, it does not force a person to move out of a home. So does that mean that you should remain in your home after foreclosure? Not unless you want to deal with an eviction after going through a foreclosure. If you refuse to move and the new owner wants you out, it is only a matter of time before you are once again in court. And this is an eviction case that there is just no chance of winning.

On a more positive note, a tenant living in the home should get at least thirty days notice in writing from the new owner before being required to be off the property. If this is the case, the tenant must be making payments and making them on time in order to have rights to stay on the property for the thirty days or until the new owner gives proper notice. Occasionally, a lender will offer the tenant money to move out in order to avoid the hassle and cost of eviction.

Even though you may not be willing to brave the eviction process, and wisely so, you may still want to know how it works and what the new owner must do in order to complete a successful eviction. Written notice has to be given to the residents of the home beforehand. The legal requirement is for the person filing the eviction to wait at least three days after notice is given to the resident before filing the suit and then the suit must be filed in the county where the property is located. Once the suit has been filed, a Constable will serve the residents with papers notifying them that they are being evicted and a the tenant or resident has a set period of time, usually less than a week, to respond. The court hearing will be held at the Justice of the Peace office and the owner only has to prove that he/she has rights to the property.

If the residents still refuse to move, the judge may issue a Writ of Possession. The sheriff or constable will then post a notice that residents have twenty-four hours to vacate the property. After the twenty-four hours, the law officer will physically evict the residents by removing their belongings and turning the property over to the owner. If the weather is poor, personal belongings may not be placed outside, but usually law officers will wait until a suitable time to evict residents.