Selling a Josephine house in Collin or Hunt County

Two counties, two sets of records

The Census Bureau's population estimates count 8,807 Josephine residents and place them in two counties, Collin County and Hunt County. Each county keeps its own appraisal rolls, deed records and courts, so the first step in a Josephine sale is to find which county your lot is in. Search the address on both appraisal district sites; the one that returns your account is your county.

Josephine's two sets of county offices

	Collin County	Hunt County
Appraisal	Collin Central Appraisal District, 250 Eldorado Pkwy., McKinney	Hunt Appraisal District, 4801 King St., Greenville
Deeds	Collin County Clerk land recordings, 2300 Bloomdale Rd., McKinney	Hunt County Clerk, 2507 Lee St., 2nd floor, Greenville
Probate	Collin County Probate Court, 2100 Bloomdale Rd.	Hunt County Clerk, which handles probate and guardianship filings

Probate follows the person, not the parcel: an estate is opened in the county where the owner lived (Estates Code 33.001). Either way, a protest of the appraised value is generally filed in writing with that county's Appraisal Review Board by May 15 or 30 days after the notice is delivered, whichever is later (Tax Code 41.44).

Who collects the city's tax

The two Comptroller directories do not read the same way for Josephine. The Collin County directory lists the City of Josephine among the units served by Collin County Tax Assessor-Collector Scott Grigg, and the Collin appraisal district's rate table names the Collin County Tax Office as collector for Josephine City. The Hunt County directory lists the City of Josephine as a taxing unit in the Hunt appraisal district, but the City of Josephine is not on that directory's list of units the Hunt County Tax Assessor-Collector collects for.

If your account is in Hunt County, read your statement to see who sends the city's portion of the bill before you assume one office covers everything.

Josephine water bills and deposits

Josephine's code of ordinances spells out the water billing cycle in Article 13.03. Bills go out on the 1st of each month or as soon as practical after that, and payment is delinquent after the 15th. An account not paid before the 26th is disconnected, and service comes back only after all charges, late fees and penalties are paid.

• The deposit stays with the water department until the depositor closes the account. If the account is current, it is refunded; unpaid bills are deducted first.
• The customer who signed the application is responsible for every bill and charge assessed to that property.
• If a tenant causes a disconnect for nonpayment, the code says the customer is responsible for the reconnect fee and/or forfeits the deposit.

For a landlord selling a rented house, that last point is the one to watch.

The weed rule notifies your lender too

Article 6.03 of the Josephine code bans weeds, brush or unsightly vegetation over 12 inches within 150 feet of any property line that abuts a street, alley, utility easement, subdivided addition, developed property or building. The owner also has to keep the strip from the property line to the edge of the pavement clear, or to the centerline of an unpaved street.

The notice goes to more people than just the owner. The code calls for seven days' written notice to the owner and to each lienholder, by letter to the address in the appraisal district records (with publication or posting allowed when personal service cannot be obtained), and a letter returned "refused" or "unclaimed" still counts as delivered. If the owner does not act in seven days, the city or its contractor may do the work and charge the owner. Weeds over 48 inches that pose an immediate danger may be cut without notice, with notice afterward; the owner may then ask in writing for a hearing within 30 days.

If the charges are not paid within 25 days after the first day of the month after the work, the city files a statement of expenses with the county clerk, and the charges become a privileged lien inferior only to tax liens and street-improvement liens, at 10% a year, which the city may sue to foreclose. For a vacant lot or an inherited house nobody visits, keeping your mailing address current with the appraisal district helps those notices reach you.

Foreclosure notices on each side

A Texas foreclosure sale generally takes place on the first Tuesday of the month, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the county where the property is located, after notice posted at the courthouse, filed with the county clerk and mailed by certified mail to each debtor at least 21 days ahead (Property Code 51.002). On the Hunt side, the county's Trustee Sales page sets the spot at the base of the central stairway on the courthouse's second floor in Greenville, or the base of the north steps outside if the courthouse is closed. On the Collin side, notices can be looked up by city in the county's foreclosure notice search.

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas's McKinney office counts both Collin and Hunt among the counties it serves and offers legal help for people who qualify; call 972-542-9405 during intake hours.

Selling your Josephine house to us

Cash Home Advisors buys Josephine houses as-is, so you can sell without making repairs. We pay all closing costs and can close in 7–14 days.

Send us the address through the get-offer page or see how it works. If the home was a rental, read our post on utilities in a vacant house; if a lender has sent a default letter, our page on selling to stop a foreclosure explains the options.

Local offices for this area

• Collin Central Appraisal District
• Hunt Appraisal District
• Hunt County Clerk
• Hunt County Tax Assessor-Collector

ZIP codes we buy in: 75164, 75173