How to find motivated sellers in Houston: what Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery records show
By Josh MillerUpdated 5 min readIn Harris County, the seller lists that sold best started with a filing: of every 100 owners whose listing expired or was cancelled, about 15 sold off-market within 12 months, and about 9 of every 100 with a foreclosure filed did, against about 1.4 for any house. The popular one-click lists sold slower: free and clear owners at about 1.1 per 100 and owners over 65 living elsewhere at about 0.5.
Harris County has about 1.2 million single-family homes. Over 12 months, about 16,600 of them sold off-market, in an arm's-length sale with no MLS listing. That's the pool a Houston wholesaler is fishing in, and it's one of the biggest in the country.
The question is which owners in that pool to reach. We counted, list by list, in Harris County and the two big counties next to it.
Harris County: the lists, counted
| List | Of every 100, sold in 12 months | Sold in first 3 months | Owners on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listing expired or cancelled | 15.3 | 8.6 | 14,473 |
| Foreclosure filed | 8.5 | 2.9 | 1,004 |
| Lien filed against the property | 7.0 | 2.7 | 3,490 |
| Sitting vacant | 3.4 | 13,868 | |
| Behind on taxes, 2 to 4 years | 2.8 | 61,543 | |
| Behind on taxes, 5 or more years | 2.1 | 24,899 | |
| Judgment against the owner | 1.5 | 0.4 | 4,511 |
| High equity, living elsewhere | 1.3 | 140,997 | |
| Owns it free and clear | 1.1 | 457,073 | |
| Owner 65+, living elsewhere | 0.5 | 28,333 | |
| Any house in Harris County | 1.4 | 1,205,933 |
Source: GoForClose count of off-market, arm's-length deeds in Harris County records. Lists that start with a filing are counted from the filing date; lists that sit there are counted over the same 12 months, so they have no 3-month figure.
Three things stand out.
- Expired listings are the Houston list. About 15 of every 100 sold off-market within a year, and more than half of those sold in the first 3 months. That's a list where showing up early pays.
- Foreclosure filings sell slower than people think. About 9 of every 100 sold off-market within a year, but only about 3 in the first 3 months. Most of those owners take months to decide. One letter the week of the filing isn't enough.
- The biggest lists are the weakest. 457,000 owners own free and clear. About 1.1 of every 100 sold off-market in a year, a little under a house picked at random. Mailing all of them is mostly mailing people who aren't selling.
Fort Bend and Montgomery
The suburbs follow the same order, with lower numbers.
| List | Fort Bend | Montgomery |
|---|---|---|
| Listing expired or cancelled | 12.4 | 14.4 |
| Lien filed against the property | 4.6 | 6.9 |
| Foreclosure filed | 6.0 | too few to measure |
| Divorce filed | 3.2 | too few to measure |
| Owns it free and clear | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| Any house in the county | 1.0 | 1.4 |
Source: GoForClose count of off-market, arm's-length deeds in county records. "Too few to measure" means the county had too few sales from that list to read honestly.
How Texas foreclosure timing changes your mail
Texas forecloses fast. A sale under a deed of trust happens at auction on the first Tuesday of the month, and the notice only has to be filed with the county clerk 21 days before (Texas Property Code 51.002). Every investor who watches the clerk's filings sees the same notice the same week.
Yet the Harris County numbers show a slow build: of every 100 owners with a foreclosure filed, about 3 sold off-market in the first 3 months and about 9 by month 12. The records don't say why. They do say most of those sales came after the rush, so mail these owners across the year, not just in the 21 days before the sale.
The Texas wholesaling rule
Since 2017, Texas has required anyone selling an interest in a purchase contract to tell the buyer in writing that that's what they're selling (Occupations Code 1101.0045). Some practitioners report a later change adding a disclosure to the seller as well. Check the Texas Real Estate Commission's current guidance before you market your first Houston contract.
See your part of Houston
Houston covers three counties, and the lists don't sell alike in each one. Read Harris County, or read any county free to see every home, the new filings, and which lists actually sold.
Questions investors ask
What is the best motivated seller list in Houston?
In Harris County records, expired and cancelled listings: about 15 of every 100 sold off-market within 12 months, and about 9 of every 100 sold within the first 3 months. Foreclosure filings came next at about 9 per 100 within 12 months.
When are foreclosure auctions in Houston?
Texas foreclosure sales under a deed of trust happen on the first Tuesday of the month, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and the notice has to be filed with the county clerk at least 21 days before (Texas Property Code 51.002). That notice is public, which is why a foreclosure owner can hear from investors within days.
How many houses sell off-market in Harris County?
About 16,600 off-market, arm's-length sales over 12 months, out of about 45,800 sales in all, so roughly 36 of every 100 sales went without an MLS listing.
Is wholesaling legal in Texas?
Yes, with a disclosure rule: since 2017, Texas law requires you to tell a potential buyer in writing that you're selling an interest in a contract, not the property itself (Occupations Code 1101.0045). Check the current Texas Real Estate Commission guidance before you market a contract.