You open the mailbox. You see the envelope. It’s not a bill you can just pay and forget. It’s a notice. A lien.
Suddenly, that “For Sale” sign you were thinking about putting in the yard feels like a pipe dream.
I’ve been there. Not with a lien, but with that heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach when a financial problem feels too big to fix. It paralyzes you.
My wife Shayla and I have been helping folks in Texas navigate real estate messes since 2006. We’ve sat at hundreds of kitchen tables right here in Arlington and throughout Tarrant County. And the question we hear constantly is: “Neil, can I even sell this house? Or am I stuck with it?”
Here is the honest truth.
Yes. You can sell a house with a lien in Texas.
In fact, selling a house is often the only way to get that lien off your back so you can finally breathe again. But you have to do it right. If you ignore it, it grows. If you handle it correctly, you walk away with a fresh start.
Let’s break this down, neighbor to neighbor.
The Short Answer: Yes, You Can Sell (But You Must Clear Title)
A lot of folks think a lien means the house is “frozen.” They think the county has locked the doors and taken the keys.
That’s not how it works.
A lien is just a cloud. Imagine looking through a dirty windshield. You can still drive the car, but you can’t sell it to someone else until you clean the glass.
In real estate terms, “cleaning the glass” means delivering a Clear Title.
When you sell your house—whether you list it with an agent or sell it to a cash home buyer like Four 19 Properties—the title company runs a search. They find everything. The unpaid taxes. The contractor who never got paid for the roof. The judgment from that old credit card.
You don’t necessarily have to pay these debts out of your pocket today.
Instead, the debts are paid at closing from the proceeds of the sale.
Think of it like this:
- We agree on a price for your house.
- The title company looks at the liens.
- They take money from the home sale price to pay off the liens.
- You get the rest.
It sounds simple, but different liens have different rules. And if you don’t know the rules, you might pay thousands more than you actually owe. That impacts your bottom line, and it impacts things like who pays house sale taxes in TX. We want to make sure you keep as much of your equity as possible.
The 4 Liens That Stop a Sale (And How We Fix Them)
Not all liens are created equal. Some are like mosquitoes—annoying but manageable. Others are like hornets—dangerous if you poke them.
Over the last nearly 20 years, Shayla and I have developed a specific “survival guide” for handling these. We don’t just identify them; we actually help our sellers fix them so the deal can close.
Here is the breakdown of the “Big 4” we see in Texas:
The Lien Survival Guide
| Lien Type | What It Is | How We Fix It (The Four 19 Way) |
| Tax Lien | Unpaid property taxes (County, School, City). | We pay it off. If the county is threatening foreclosure, we step in, pay the delinquent amount at closing, and stop the auction. Read more on what is a tax deed in Texas to understand the risks of waiting too long. |
| HOA Lien | Unpaid dues or fines from your Homeowners Association. | We negotiate. HOAs love to tack on “junk fees.” We get on the phone and fight to get those penalties reduced so the final bill is fair. |
| Mechanic’s Lien | A contractor (roofer, plumber) claims they weren’t paid. | We dispute or bond around it. Sometimes these are invalid. If a contractor filed it wrong (which happens often), we work with the title company to get it removed. |
| Judgment Lien | A court ruling against you for unpaid debts (credit cards, medical bills). | We use the Law. This is our secret weapon. In Texas, your homestead is protected. We help file the paperwork to strip these off your real property. |
We don’t just say, “Go fix this and call us back.” That’s not how we operate. We are a family business. We get in the trenches with you to clear this stuff up.
The “Homestead Loophole”: Avoiding Judgment Liens in Texas
This is the part that makes big banks and credit card companies mad. But I want you to know about it because it is your right as a Texan.
It’s called Texas Property Code Section 52.0012.
Here is the scenario: You had a rough patch five years ago. You missed payments on a Visa card. They sued you, they won, and now there is a $10,000 “Abstract of Judgment” attached to your name in the county records.
You think you have to pay that $10,000 to sell your house.
In many cases, you do not.
Texas is a “Homestead State.” Our laws are written to protect families, not creditors. If the real property you are selling is your primary residence (your homestead), a judgment lien for consumer debt often cannot be forced against the home’s equity.
When we buy a house with these types of judgments, we don’t just roll over and pay them.
We work with a specialized title attorney to file a Partial Release of Judgment Affidavit.
Basically, we tell the creditor: “This is a homestead. Your lien doesn’t stick here. By law, you have to release it so we can sell.”
This saves our sellers thousands of dollars. It’s money that goes into your pocket, not the bank’s. It can even affect your capital gains tax in Texas calculation because you are walking away with more profit.
Note: I am not a lawyer, and I can’t give legal advice. But I am a real estate problem solver, and I know how to use the tools the state gives us to protect your family.
Child Support & IRS Liens: The Ones You Can’t Ignore
Now, let’s have a hard conversation.
There are two types of liens that Section 52.0012 won’t fix.
- Federal Tax Liens (IRS)
- Child Support Liens
The Federal government and the Attorney General don’t care about homestead laws. These liens stick to the property like superglue.
If you owe back child support, the title company is required by law to send that money to the state registry before you see a dime. Same goes for the IRS.
But here is the good news.
Selling is the solution.
Right now, if you have those liens, they are accruing interest. The hole is getting deeper every single day. The IRS penalties alone are brutal.
By selling the house—even if you have to use all the equity to pay them off—you stop the bleeding. You stop the interest. You clear your name.
We have worked with sellers who were terrified of the IRS. We helped them sell the house, pay the debt, and finally sleep through the night for the first time in years. Whether you are trying to sell a house with a mortgage in Texas or a massive tax bill, the process is the same. We liquidate the asset to solve the problem.
What If the Liens Are Worth More Than the House?
This is the question that stops people dead in their tracks.
“Neil, the house is worth $200,000. But between the mortgage, the taxes, and the liens, I owe $220,000. I can’t sell. I’m stuck.”
You aren’t stuck.
Shayla and I specialize in “upside-down” properties. When there isn’t enough equity to pay everyone, we have two main strategies:
1. The Short Sale:
We negotiate with the bank to take less than what is owed. We show them that you are facing hardship and that taking a discount now is better than foreclosing later.
2. Lien Discounting:
Remember those “junk fees” I mentioned? We call the lien holders. We tell them, “Look, you can take 50 cents on the dollar right now, or you can get zero when the house gets foreclosed on.”
Money talks. Most creditors would rather have something today than nothing tomorrow.
We handle these negotiations for you. We treat your budget like it’s our own.
Why Selling to Four 19 Properties Is Faster Than Clearing Title Yourself
You could try to do all this yourself.
You could spend your lunch breaks on hold with the county clerk. You could argue with the HOA lawyers. You could try to decipher the Texas Property Code while stressed out.
But why would you?
If you are trying to sell your house in Dallas or dealing with a complicated inheritance property in Fort Worth, you need a partner, not just a buyer.
When you sell to Four 19 Properties:
- We have a dedicated Title Officer. We work with title experts who do this every single day. They know exactly which forms to file to clear those judgments.
- We buy “As-Is.” That applies to the physical house AND the title. Messy paperwork doesn’t scare us.
- We are patient but fast. If we need to wait for a probate period, we wait. If you need cash in 7 days to stop a foreclosure, we move fast.
We built this company on the verse Matthew 4:19. We are here to be fishers of men—to serve people, not just make a buck.
If you have a lien, don’t hide from it. It’s a solvable problem.
Let us shoulder that burden for you. We’ll look at the situation, tell you exactly what is possible, and if we can’t help you, we will point you to someone who can. That’s the “Win-Win” promise.
Give us a call. Let’s get that title cleared and get you moving forward.