Selling a Hutchins House

Dallas County handles the records

The Census Bureau's 2024 estimate counts 7,996 people in Hutchins, and the Census lists Dallas County as the only county the city lies in. Every county record a seller needs comes from Dallas County offices:

Office	What it does for a Hutchins seller
Dallas Central Appraisal District	Sets the appraised value and holds exemption records for the 61 local governing bodies in the county. It also runs the uFILE online protest system; under Tax Code section 41.44 the written notice of protest itself is filed with the appraisal review board.
Dallas County Tax Office	Lists Hutchins among the cities whose taxes it collects under contract. Records Building, 500 Elm Street, Suite 3300; (214) 653-7811.
County Clerk, Recording Division	Records deeds, liens and releases. 500 Elm Street, Suite 2100; (214) 653-7099; open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
County Clerk, foreclosure notices	Posts notices of trustee sales by city and month. Sales are held on the first Tuesday of the month on the north side of the George Allen Courts Building, facing 600 Commerce Street.

Two parts of the Hutchins city code send documents into the clerk's records. Both are explained below.

Substandard-building cases follow the property

Article 3.05 of the Hutchins code on dangerous and substandard buildings lets a building and standards commission hold a hearing on a run-down structure and order it secured, repaired, removed or demolished. A few rules in that article reach a sale directly:

• The building official must search the county real property records, appraisal district records, city tax records and city utility records, among others, to find every owner, mortgagee and lienholder.
• The city secretary files a notice of the hearing with the county clerk. The code says that notice is binding on anyone who acquires an interest in the property after it is filed, so a later buyer is bound by it.
• The code says an order must require the owner to secure the building, or to repair, remove or demolish it, within thirty days, unless the owner or lienholder shows at the hearing that the work cannot reasonably be done in that time.
• If the city does the work, its costs become a personal obligation of the owner and a lien filed in the county deed records. Section 3.05.015 says that lien ranks behind only tax liens and existing special assessment liens.

If you have received a hearing notice or a lien was filed, ask the city for the current amount owed before you set a closing, and talk to a Texas real estate attorney about your options.

Owner registration for single-family rentals

Article 3.14 of the Hutchins code requires owners of single-family rental houses to register. The registration is about who owns and manages the house:

• A landlord must give a tenant or a city official the name, street address and phone number of the record title holder as shown in the county clerk's deed records, plus an off-site property manager's contact details if there is one.
• A new application is required each time ownership changes, which the code defines as more than half of the equity passing to people not named on the last application.
• The code says there is no fee to register a single-family rental.
• A violation is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500, and each day it continues is a separate offense.

If a tenant will not leave before a sale, Texas law sends the eviction suit to the justice court for the precinct where the house is located (Property Code sections 24.004 and 24.0041). The county's justice of the peace page has a map to look up the district. Our post on vacant rental risks may help if the house is empty between tenants.

Inherited houses and probate

When an owner dies, probate is filed in the county where that person lived, not automatically where the house is (Estates Code section 33.001). If the owner of a Hutchins house lived in Dallas County, the case is filed there. The county's probate page lists The Probate Court, Probate Court No. 2 and Probate Court No. 3, all on the 7th floor of the George Allen Courts Building at 600 Commerce Street. The county's page describes them as a statutorily created probate court system. For legal help if you qualify, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas lists a Dallas office at 1515 Main Street, 214-748-1234. Our guide to selling an inherited house covers the steps that come before a sale.

Selling to Cash Home Advisors

You can sell a Hutchins house as-is, without making repairs, and we pay all closing costs. We can close in 7–14 days. Fill out the form or see how it works. If the house is vacant, read our vacant house checklist first.

Local offices for this area

• Dallas Central Appraisal District
• Dallas County Tax Office (jurisdictions it collects for)
• Dallas County Clerk, Recording Division
• Dallas County Probate Courts
• Hutchins Code: Dangerous and Substandard Buildings (Art. 3.05)
• Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas locations

ZIP codes we buy in: 75141