Foreclosure starts across the Dallas-Fort Worth area have averaged slightly more than 800 per month this year, a roughly 24 percent increase compared with a year earlier and well above the national increase of about 16 percent, according to KERA News reports. The figures underscore a growing pressure on Texas homeowners, particularly because state law allows a foreclosure sale to proceed within weeks of a default notice.
Leinart Law Firm is urging Texas homeowners who have received a default notice from their mortgage servicer to seek legal advice before a sale date is set. Reviewing options such as a loan modification, reinstatement, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy with a bankruptcy lawyer in Mesquite, TX at that early stage can preserve more time to pursue the option that best fits the homeowner's situation.
"Texas law allows a foreclosure sale within weeks of a default notice, which is why the first letter from a servicer deserves prompt attention," said Marcus Leinart, founder of Leinart Law Firm. "When we meet a client before the notice of sale is posted, there is often time to work with the servicer while keeping a Chapter 13 filing available if that effort does not succeed."
Most Texas mortgages can be foreclosed without a court case. Under Section 51.002 of the Texas Property Code, a homeowner must receive at least 20 days to cure a default on a residence and at least 21 days' notice before the sale, which is held on the first Tuesday of the month. That can leave as few as 41 days between the certified default letter and the auction.
Filing a Chapter 13 case before the scheduled sale changes the homeowner's position in three key ways. For most filers, the automatic stay halts the foreclosure sale as soon as the case is filed. Past-due amounts are then included in a court-approved plan lasting three to five years, while the homeowner resumes regular monthly payments. After the court confirms the plan, the servicer is bound by its repayment terms instead of demanding a lump-sum reinstatement.
Homeowners who have already received a notice of sale can still file before the auction, though the timeline leaves little room for preparation. The sharp rise in foreclosure starts means more North Texas households could soon face that narrow window, making early intervention a critical factor in avoiding a forced sale.
