Selling a Vacant House in Texas
Yes. An empty Texas house sells like any other, but it costs you every month it sits. Insurers limit coverage after a stretch of vacancy, summer heat and humidity punish a closed-up house, hail and hurricanes find every weak spot, and a hard freeze like 2021's can burst pipes in an unheated house. Texas gave owners a faster tool in 2025: since September 1, a sheriff or constable can remove true squatters on a sworn complaint, without a court eviction. Secure the house, fix the insurance, and price out the next six months.
Reviewed by Dennis Fassett, founder of Dennis Buys Houses · Updated November 2026
For owners of an empty Texas house in Houston, Austin, Round Rock, Killeen or anywhere else. General information, not legal or insurance advice.
Why Nobody's Living There
- An estateSort out who can sign first. (See How to Sell a House in Probate in Texas.)
- Military ordersA PCS move from Fort Hood often leaves a house behind.
- A tenant moved outMake sure they truly surrendered it.
- A relocationYour homestead exemption may not carry over.
- A stalled rehabOpen permits stay with the house.
Protect It
- 1New locks
Every exterior door and the garage.
- 2Call the carrier
Tell them it's vacant, and ask about wind, hail and flood.
- 3AC and freeze prep
Keep the AC set to control humidity, and know how to shut off the water before a freeze.
- 4Yard and mail
Mow, water the foundation in drought, and stop the mail.
- 5Regular visits
Every week or two, and after every storm or freeze.
Is It Still Insured?
Read the vacancy clause. Most standard homeowners policies cut back on theft, vandalism and water damage after about 60 days with no one living there, and wind, hail and flood each have their own rules in Texas. Get a vacant-dwelling policy if your carrier won't keep you covered, and consider flood insurance in Harris County even outside a mapped floodplain.
Want a Number to Compare Against?
Tell me where the house is and how long it's been empty. I'll weigh an as-is offer against what it's costing you each month and tell you honestly if listing would do better.
Texas's 2025 Squatter Law
Since September 1, 2025, an owner can file a sworn complaint with the sheriff or constable, and if the conditions are met, a true squatter, someone with no lease and no legal right to be there, can be removed without an eviction case. Producing a fake lease or deed is a crime, and leasing property you don't own is a felony. (Summary of SB 38 and SB 1333) A former tenant whose lease expired still goes through justice court. (See Selling a House With Bad Tenants in Texas.)
What Texas Weather Does to an Empty House
Summer heat and humidity grow mold fast in a closed house, and drought shrinks clay soil and moves foundations. Spring hail can shred a roof in minutes. On the Gulf Coast, a hurricane brings wind and flooding. And as 2021 showed, a hard freeze can burst pipes in a house nobody is heating. Regular checks catch all of it.
City Code Enforcement
Houston, Austin, Round Rock, Killeen and other cities enforce property maintenance and dangerous-building rules on neglected houses, and unpaid cleanup and mowing charges can become liens. Many Texas subdivisions also have HOAs that fine for overgrown yards and can foreclose for unpaid assessments. Keep it mowed, secured and current.
Taxes and the Mortgage Keep Running
If you moved out, the homestead exemption may end and the bill may jump. Texas tax penalties grow quickly after February 1. (See Selling a House With Delinquent Property Taxes in Texas.) A mortgage that falls behind can go to a first-Tuesday sale within weeks. (See Selling a House in Foreclosure in Texas.)
An empty Texas house is exposed to heat, hail, hurricanes and freezes, sometimes all in one year. Price that risk honestly before you decide to hold.
The Real Monthly Cost
Add the loan payment, one-twelfth of a Texas-sized tax bill, a vacant-home policy plus wind and flood where needed, the electric bill for the AC, mowing, HOA dues, someone to walk it and a cushion for repairs. Then multiply by the months a fix-up and sale would really take.
Your Choices
Rent It
Rental demand is steady near Fort Hood and in Austin and Houston, if you're ready to be a landlord.
Renovate and List
The top price when the foundation, roof and systems are sound.
List It As It Is
A Realtor markets it in today's condition, and you keep covering the bills through option periods, repairs requests and the buyer's financing.
Sell As-Is
If you're done paying for an empty house, an as-is sale closes on your schedule. If you'd rather skip the whole production, sell it as-is to a real estate investor: no open houses, no repair negotiations after inspection, no hauling furniture in the Texas heat, and a closing date you set. Sell to Dennis Buys Houses and the clean-out is our problem, not yours. Take what you want and leave everything else. If we run across anything personal or valuable, we'll make sure it gets back to you.
The Usual Complications
Empty Texas houses tend to collect problems: foundation movement, hail damage, mold, an HOA lien, back taxes and penalties, a lapsed policy, an open estate or a former tenant's belongings. Each one trims the list of buyers. (See Selling an Inherited House in Texas and Selling a House With Bad Tenants in Texas.)
Vacant-House Mistakes in Texas
- Turning the AC off for the summer.
- Not shutting off the water before a hard freeze.
- Skipping flood coverage in Harris County.
- Letting HOA fines and dues pile up.
- Using the squatter process on a former tenant.
- Holding through storm season without running the numbers.
Where I Fit, and Where I Don't
Texas owners usually call me when the empty house has foundation, hail or water damage, an HOA problem, belongings still inside, or sits too far away to keep an eye on.
There's no need to empty the house for Dennis Buys Houses, either. Leave what you don't want and we'll handle it.
When the house is in good shape and you can afford to carry it through a financed sale, the open market usually wins, and I'll tell you.
Whatever the situation, I'll be upfront about whether I'm a good fit for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not by itself. Condition, title and any HOA or tax liens matter far more than vacancy.
Since September 1, 2025, you can file a sworn complaint with the sheriff or constable to remove a true squatter without an eviction case.
No. Keep what you want; with an as-is sale, Dennis Buys Houses handles what's left.
Often only for about 60 days. Wind, hail and flood have their own rules, so ask in writing.
Yes, for unpaid assessments, though owners generally get 180 days to redeem after an HOA foreclosure.
Not in a Texas summer. Humidity in a closed house leads to mold quickly.
Squatter and eviction changes: Summary of SB 38 and SB 1333. For local rules, call your city code enforcement office.
Texas Selling Guides
- How to Sell a House in Probate in Texas
- Selling an Inherited House in Texas
- Selling a House With Bad Tenants in Texas
- Selling a House in Foreclosure in Texas
- Selling a House With Delinquent Property Taxes in Texas
Tired of Carrying an Empty Texas House?
Give me the address. I'll come back with a firm as-is offer you can weigh against another season of heat, hail and bills, and a straight answer about listing.