Sanger Home Sellers: City Rules and County Offices

Water, sewer, sanitation and city electric are billed monthly

Sanger's code of ordinances puts municipal utility accounts on a monthly schedule. Section 13.1601 says accounts for city water, sewer, sanitation and electric service are billed once each month, and that failing to receive a bill does not relieve the customer of the charges.

• The 15th day. Under section 13.1602, a payment becomes delinquent on the 15th day after the billing date, and a 10% late fee is added to each delinquent bill.
• The 27th day. Section 13.1603 allows the city to discontinue service, upon due written notice, for past-due bills on the 27th day after the billing date. A service fee from the fee schedule is assessed once an account is set to be cut off, and a disconnected account must be paid in full before service comes back.
• Weather. The same section lets the city delay a residential disconnection when the National Weather Service reports or forecasts extreme cold or extended heat at the levels the code spells out.
• New service. Anyone applying for a connection to the water and sanitary sewer system makes a deposit in the amount listed in the code's fee schedule (section 13.601).

If you have moved out and the house is waiting to sell, keep the account current so a cutoff does not leave a vacant house without service.

A leak nobody saw

Leaks at an empty house can run for weeks. Section 13.1608 lets a customer ask for an adjustment when water was lost through a leak in the customer's own water line, for a period of no more than two consecutive months. The code sets five conditions:

1. the request is filed no later than 90 days after the billing date in question;
2. the extra use came from water line leaks at the service address that were not within the customer's control;
3. the customer was diligent in repairing the leaks;
4. no tampering fee was applied to the account in the past 12 months; and
5. the customer has not received an adjustment under that section in the preceding 12 months.

Section 13.1608(b) asks for the request on a city form, with documentation of the exact nature and date of the repairs.

Twelve inches of grass, then a lien

Sanger's weed article (Article 6.100) applies to lots in the city whether they are occupied or unoccupied, improved or unimproved. Section 6.102 makes it unlawful to let uncultivated grass, weeds or plants grow past 12 inches, with an exception for land more than 100 feet from an open public street or from neighboring property with habitable dwellings, on tracts of five acres or more under single ownership.

If the owner has not complied seven days after the city's notice, section 6.106 lets the city do the work and charge the owner, including an administrative fee set by the city council, with payment due within 30 days of the mailing date. Section 6.107 adds that the notice may warn, by certified mail, that a repeat violation of the same kind before the first anniversary of the notice can be corrected without further notice at the owner's expense. Under section 6.108, a statement of expenses filed with the county clerk creates a lien that attaches on filing, earns 10% interest from the date the city paid, and is inferior only to tax liens and street improvement liens.

Before you list a house that sat empty through the summer, ask the city whether any mowing charges are open on the lot.

Which county office handles what

Census Bureau population estimates (Census population tables) count all of Sanger's residents in Denton County and also list a part of the city, with no residents, in Cooke County. Denton County's appraisal districts page explains that since January 1, 2008 each appraisal district's boundaries match its county's, tells owners to contact the district for the county where the property is located, and lists Cooke County Appraisal District among the neighboring districts its tax office works with. For a parcel on the Denton County roll:

Task	Office	What its page says
Value or exemption dispute	Denton Central Appraisal District	File by May 15 or 30 days after the notice was mailed, whichever is later; dated photos and repair estimates can serve as evidence. Tax Code 41.44 has the notice filed with the appraisal review board.
Paying the tax bill	Tax Assessor-Collector, 940-349-3500	The tax FAQ says the tax becomes a lien on January 1 and bills go out in October.
Deeds and recorded liens	Recording Division of the County Clerk	Maintains the county's real property records; accepts documents by mail and through e-recording partners.

When the house comes through an estate

Where a will is probated generally depends on where the person who died lived, not where the house sits. Estates Code section 33.001 places venue in the county where the decedent resided, if the decedent had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas. Under Estates Code 32.005, a statutory probate court has exclusive jurisdiction of all probate proceedings in its county. Denton County's pages for Probate Court No. 1 and Probate Court No. 2 describe each as a statutory probate court and say that, in general, these courts probate wills, declare the heirs of people who die without a will, and establish guardianships. Probate Court No. 2 lists 3900 Morse Street, Suite 100, in Denton, and 940-349-2260.

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas names Cooke and Denton among the counties its Denton office serves and offers legal help for people who qualify; the office number is 940-383-1406. A probate attorney can tell you who has authority to sign a deed for the estate.

How Cash Home Advisors fits in

You can sell your Sanger house as-is, without making repairs. We pay all closing costs and can close in 7–14 days. To begin, request an offer or read how the process works. Heirs may find our guide to selling an inherited house in Texas and our post on how long an executor has to sell useful.

Local offices for this area

• Denton Central Appraisal District: the protest process
• Denton County Tax Office: Appraisal Districts
• Denton County Tax Assessor-Collector: Property Tax
• Denton County Clerk: Recording Division
• Denton County Probate Court No. 2
• Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Denton office

ZIP codes we buy in: 76266