State Foreclosure Law Library

montgomery-tx

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Montgomery County, Texas — Tax Sale & Surplus Procedure

Local operations layer. The legal framework (redemption periods, surplus rights, statutes, case law) lives on the parent page → texas. This page covers how Montgomery County actually runs it. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

C0. Identity

C1. Local Tax Sale

  • Conducts own sale? Yes — Montgomery County Constables conduct all delinquent-tax foreclosure sales and resales on behalf of the county, but exclusively online (no live in-person tax auction) since July 27, 2021, when the County Commissioners Court authorized the switch to an online platform. Constables continue to conduct live execution sales (non-tax) in accordance with Texas law. — https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php
  • Platform / vendor: RealAuction · Exact subdomain URL: https://montgomery.texas.realforeclose.com · Parent platform: www.realauction.com. The platform provides free bidder training and hosts all rules, procedures, and property listings. — https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php
  • Delinquent-tax law firm: Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson, LLP (LGBS). Properties scheduled for sale are listed on the LGBS tax-sale website. — https://taxsales.lgbs.com/
  • Calendar: First Tuesday of every month at 10:00 a.m. If the first Tuesday falls on a legal holiday, the sale is held on the following business day. Sales run until 4:00 p.m. (consistent with Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(r)). — https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php
    • Next known sale: July 7, 2026 (first Tuesday of July 2026). June 2, 2026 was the next immediate sale as of last-verification date. Verify specific listings at https://montgomery.texas.realforeclose.com prior to each sale.
  • Property listing / delinquent-tax sale list: Properties scheduled for foreclosure are listed at https://taxsales.lgbs.com/ (LGBS). Interested buyers may register by county or by individual property on the LGBS site to receive email notifications when listings are posted or property status changes. — https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php
  • Tax trust (struck-off) resale list: Properties struck off to taxing entities that did not receive a bid at the tax sale are offered for resale. The current Tax Trust Property list is published by the Tax Office in both Excel (XLSX) and PDF formats, updated periodically (most recent: “Tax Trust List 05.01.2026”). — https://www.mctotx.org/property/tax_trust_property.php
  • Registration / deposit — two required steps:
    1. Written Statement (Bidder Certificate) — Tex. Tax Code § 34.015: Download and notarize the Request for Written Statement form from the Tax Office website. Submit with a $10 fee to: Montgomery County Tax Office, Research Department, 400 N. San Jacinto St., Conroe, TX 77301 (or email mcto.research@mctx.org). Allow 3–5 business days. The certified Written Statement is valid for 90 days and must be submitted to the Tax Office at least 24 hours before the sale in which the bidder intends to participate. The constable is prohibited by statute from delivering a deed to any purchaser who fails to present the required Written Statement (Tex. Tax Code § 34.015). — https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php
    2. Online bidder registration and deposit at RealAuction: Register at https://montgomery.texas.realforeclose.com. All bidders must place a deposit equal to 5% of their total estimated high bid through the platform before participating. — https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php (5% deposit confirmed via county-posted RealAuction procedural guidance)
  • Bidder requirements summary: (a) Register at the RealAuction platform; (b) hold a valid Written Statement from the Tax Assessor-Collector; (c) place the 5% deposit; (d) owe no delinquent taxes in Montgomery County (to any school district or municipality). — https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php
  • Rate within statutory range: No county-specific deviation from the statutory minimum-bid formula identified; Montgomery County applies Tex. Tax Code § 34.01(b) — lesser of total judgment (taxes + penalties + interest + court + sale costs) or adjudged value. See texas.

C2. Local Redemption → framework: right-of-redemption

  • Periods inherit from texas: 2 years from deed recording (homestead, agricultural, mineral) or 180 days from deed recording (all other property). No local shortening or extension identified.
  • Where/how to redeem locally: Statutory Ch. 34, Subchapter B process — the redeeming owner pays the purchaser directly (or through the county tax assessor-collector if the purchaser cannot be located) the bid + recording fee + taxes/penalties/interest/costs paid by purchaser + statutory premium (25% in year one, 50% in year two for 2-year property; 25% for 180-day property). — See texas § 34.21.
  • Redemption contact: Montgomery County Tax Office, 400 N. San Jacinto St., Conroe, TX 77301; phone (936) 539-7897; email tax@mctx.org. — https://www.mctotx.org/
  • Local fees: the $10 Written Statement fee applies to bidders; no separate county-specific redemption fee identified beyond the statutory redemption-premium formula.
  • Deviations from state default: none identified; Montgomery County’s process tracks the texas § 34.21 statutory formula.

C3. Local Surplus / Excess Proceeds → framework: surplus-funds

BUSINESS-CRITICAL for AuctionBlock operations. Verified against county-official sources as of 2026-06-02.

  • Legal vehicle: Tex. Tax Code § 34.04 — excess sale proceeds above the judgment amount (taxes, penalties, interest, court costs) are deposited in the court registry of the district court that ordered the sale. — See texas.
  • Claim filing venue: A claimant (former owner, lienholder, or other party in the § 34.04(c) waterfall) files a verified petition in the district court that issued the foreclosure judgment, under the original cause number. Funds are held in the court registry managed by the Montgomery County District Clerk — Finance and Registry Department.
  • Deposit types held in court registry (confirmed): tax excess proceeds, disputed funds, cash bonds, and minor’s money. — search result from https://www.mctx.org/departments/departments_d_-_f/district_clerk/finance_and_registry.php
  • Claim form: Montgomery County published an official “EXCESS PROCEEDS Tax Code §34.04 Overview” document (dated 2022-02-23) at https://cms1files.revize.com/montgomerycountytx/Excess%20proceeds%202-23-2022.pdf. (PDF rendering failed; content not directly extracted — flagged needs_verification for full text.) The procedural vehicle is a verified petition for excess proceeds filed under the original cause number; the county does not appear to publish a standardized fill-in form. Contact the District Clerk Finance & Registry directly at (936) 538-3793 to confirm current filing requirements. A “Motion and Order to Withdraw Registry Funds” form is available from the District Clerk for the disbursement stage after a court order is obtained. — https://www.mctx.org/departments/departments_d_-_f/district_clerk/finance_and_registry.php
  • Filing prerequisite: Consistent with Texas practice (and the published Harris County Tax Court policy which this county’s courts follow by analogy), no petition should be filed until the Officer’s Return of Sale has been filed with the District Clerk and the excess proceeds have been deposited in the registry. Serve copies on all parties to the underlying judgment (taxing authorities, lienholders, former owner, and the county/district attorney’s office). (Prerequisite confirmed as statewide practice; county-specific written policy not separately retrieved — see needs_verification.)
  • Claim deadline: Before the second anniversary of the date of sale. After the 2-year window without a valid claim, unclaimed proceeds are distributed to the participating taxing units. — Tex. Tax Code § 34.04(a), (e); see texas.
  • Unclaimed-funds list published? No dedicated publicly searchable list identified for excess-proceeds held by the Montgomery County District Clerk. After the taxing-unit distribution period, residual funds may eventually be escheated to the Texas Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division — search at claimittexas.org or call 1-800-654-3463. (Confirmed for statewide escheated registry funds; Montgomery County-specific unclaimed list not retrieved — see needs_verification.)
  • Recovery-agent rules (statewide): The § 34.04(f) assignment regime applies — 36-day post-deposit waiting period before any assignment is valid; assignee must pay assignor at least 80% of the claim; solicitation-obtained assignments are void; sworn affidavit required. Attorney-fee cap: 25% of amount obtained or $1,000, whichever is less (§ 34.04(i)). — See texas and third-party-recovery-rules.
  • Contact: District Clerk Finance & Registry — (936) 538-3793; District Clerk main — districtclrk@mctx.org / (936) 539-7855. — https://www.mctx.org/departments/departments_d_-_f/district_clerk/index.php

C4. Offices & Contacts

OfficeNameAddressPhoneURL
Tax Assessor-CollectorTammy J. McRae400 N. San Jacinto St., Conroe, TX 77301(936) 539-7897 · mcto.research@mctx.org · tax@mctx.orghttps://www.mctotx.org/
District Clerk (court registry / excess-proceeds filing)Melisa Miller301 N. Main St., Suite 103, Conroe, TX 77301 (mail: P.O. Box 2985, Conroe, TX 77305)(936) 539-7855 main · (936) 538-3793 Finance/Registryhttps://www.mctx.org/departments/departments_d_-_f/district_clerk/index.php
County Clerk (deed recording / recorder of deeds)L. Brandon Steinmann210 W. Davis (Hwy 105), Conroe, TX 77301 (mail: P.O. Box 959, Conroe, TX 77305)(936) 539-7885 · countyclerk@mctx.orghttps://www.mctx.org/departments/departments_a_-_c/county_clerk/index.php
Sheriff (execution sales; tax sales conducted by Constables)Wesley Doolittle (took office Jan 1, 2025)1 Criminal Justice Drive, Conroe, TX 77301(936) 760-5800 general · (936) 538-5900 non-emergency dispatchhttps://www.mctxsheriff.org/

Note on sale officer: Montgomery County’s delinquent-tax foreclosure sales are conducted by the County Constables (not the Sheriff), online at https://montgomery.texas.realforeclose.com. The Sheriff’s Office is not the bidder-registration point for tax sales. Constables also continue to handle live execution sales. — https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php

C5. Local Procedure Notes

C6. Records Access

C7. Meta

  • sources:
  • needs_verification:
    • Excess-proceeds county document full text — the Montgomery County “EXCESS PROCEEDS Tax Code §34.04 Overview” PDF at https://cms1files.revize.com/montgomerycountytx/Excess%20proceeds%202-23-2022.pdf could not be extracted (binary render failure); read on next pass to confirm local filing procedure, form name, and any county-specific instructions or prerequisites beyond the statutory baseline.
    • County-specific Tax Court Policy — the Bexar/Harris district courts publish a formal “Tax Court Policy Concerning Application for Disbursement of Excess Proceeds” (justex.net). Confirm whether Montgomery County district courts have published an equivalent local policy document; contact District Clerk Finance & Registry at (936) 538-3793.
    • Unclaimed excess-proceeds list — no publicly searchable list of unclaimed court registry funds identified for Montgomery County; confirm whether the District Clerk publishes one or whether open-records request is required.
    • Written Statement form URL — the Tax Office references a downloadable, notarizable Request for Written Statement form; the direct form URL was not retrieved. Locate at https://www.mctotx.org/property/foreclosure_sales_and_resales.php or contact mcto.research@mctx.org.
    • RealAuction subdomain direct access — https://montgomery.texas.realforeclose.com returned 403 on direct fetch; confirm URL is still live and serving current sale listings.
    • Current Tax Trust resale process — confirm whether Tax Trust properties are relisted on RealAuction or sold through a separate process; the Tax Office page links both the trust list and the foreclosure sales page without explicitly specifying resale mechanism.
    • Sheriff’s exact role — confirm whether the Sheriff has any residual role in signing or delivering deeds on tax-sale properties, or if that function is fully with the Constables post-2021.
    • E-recording status — deeds.com noted “e-recording coming soon” as of 2025; confirm current status with County Clerk.
    • Next sale date verification — confirm upcoming sale listings and dates at https://montgomery.texas.realforeclose.com before each month’s sale.
  • cross_links: texas, right-of-redemption, surplus-funds, third-party-recovery-rules, sheriff-sale, due-process-notice, tyler-v-hennepin-county
  • changelog:
    • 2026-06-02 — Initial population (autoresearch wave 1). C0–C7 filled from county Tax Office, District Clerk, County Clerk, Sheriff, MCAD, Census, and LGBS sources. Key local facts pinned: RealAuction online platform (since July 2021), Constables as sale officer, 5% deposit, $10/24-hour Written Statement, first-Tuesday monthly calendar, District Clerk Finance & Registry at (936) 538-3793 for excess-proceeds filing, Tammy McRae (Tax A/C), Melisa Miller (District Clerk), L. Brandon Steinmann (County Clerk), Wesley Doolittle (Sheriff). Honest gaps flagged in needs_verification (county excess-proceeds PDF not renderable; local Tax Court Policy not retrieved).

Legal information, not legal advice. This page summarizes Montgomery County’s local tax-sale and surplus procedures from the county’s own official sources as of the last_verified date. Procedures, venues, contacts, sale dates, and forms change; verify against the cited county pages and consult a licensed Texas attorney before acting.

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