Selling a Seagoville House

Check which appraisal district has your address

Seagoville counted 20,124 residents in the Census Bureau's 2024 estimate. The Census places the city in Dallas County, with a minor part in Kaufman County, and both appraisal districts list the city:

• The Dallas Central Appraisal District appraises for the 61 local governing bodies in Dallas County, accepts homestead filings at no charge, and runs the uFILE online protest.
• The Kaufman Central Appraisal District's taxing-entities page includes the City of Seagoville. That district's office is at 3950 S Houston St. in Kaufman, (972) 932-6081.

Search your address in both before you assume which county's offices apply. For property in Dallas County, the Dallas County Tax Office lists Seagoville among the cities whose taxes it collects under contract (Records Building, 500 Elm Street, Suite 3300; (214) 653-7811), and the County Clerk's Recording Division records deeds, liens and releases at (214) 653-7099. In either county, the written notice of a value protest is filed with that district's appraisal review board (Tax Code section 41.44).

When an unpaid water bill becomes a lien

Seagoville's code, Article 19.03 on Water and Sewers, lets an unpaid utility bill reach the house itself. Section 19.03.072 says:

• If a bill is not paid by the due date in the final notice of delinquency, which goes out at least ten days before that date, service is discontinued. It is not restored until all outstanding charges and penalties are paid.
• To secure delinquent charges, the city may impose a lien on the customer's real property where the service was delivered, unless it is a homestead protected by the Texas Constitution.
• The lien does not apply to bills for service connected in a tenant's name after the owner has notified the city that the property is a rental.
• The city perfects the lien by recording a notice, with a legal description and the account number, in the Dallas County real property records, and the lien includes penalties, interest and collection costs.

Section 19.03.069 adds a ten percent penalty once a bill passes its due date. If you own a Seagoville rental, notifying the city that it is rental property is what keeps a tenant's unpaid bill from becoming a lien. Before a sale, ask the utility office for the balance on the account. The online code page also lists a newer ordinance that amends this article, so confirm the current rules with the city.

Landlord and vacant-house duties in the building code

Article 21.04, Minimum Building Standards, sets out what owners and occupants must keep up. Under section 21.04.005, the city's board of adjustment sits as the building and standards commission allowed by Chapter 54 of the Local Government Code. Two owner duties in section 21.04.009 stand out for sellers:

• The doors and windows of a vacant structure, or a vacant part of one, must be kept securely closed to prevent unauthorized entry.
• An owner must give a tenant alternative housing that meets the article's standards if, after a notice or citation, the owner fails to repair heating equipment within seventy-two hours while the overnight low at Dallas Love Field stays below 40 degrees Fahrenheit for three consecutive days, or fails to repair refrigerated air within seventy-two hours while the daytime high is 95 degrees Fahrenheit or more for three consecutive days. The same duty applies when other repairs make the house uninhabitable during the work.

Section 21.04.006 also lets the board require a vacant structure that is a dangerous condition or nuisance to be securely closed and made safe. The cost of correcting a dangerous condition on the land is the owner's responsibility, and if the city pays for the work, it may become a charge against the property.

Foreclosure notices for Seagoville

The Dallas County Clerk's foreclosure page posts notices of sale as PDF files sorted by city and month, and Seagoville has its own files there. The clerk's office does not produce a list of properties to be sold. Notices are posted in the clerk's office or in the lobby of the George Allen Courts Building, must go up 21 days before the first-Tuesday sale, and copies of individual notices cost $1.00 per page from the clerk. The clerk's page says trustees conduct the sales on behalf of lenders; the clerk's staff do not.

If your Seagoville address appears in a notice, Dallas County's Home Loan Counseling Center is a HUD-approved agency that offers foreclosure and loss-mitigation counseling in English and Spanish, (214) 819-6060. Our page on stopping a foreclosure by selling walks through the options.

Selling to Cash Home Advisors

Cash Home Advisors buys houses in Seagoville. You can sell as-is without making repairs, we pay all closing costs, and we can close in 7–14 days. A city utility lien or a mortgage still has to be dealt with, so ask for a payoff early. Start with the offer form or read how it works.

Local offices for this area

• Dallas Central Appraisal District
• Kaufman Central Appraisal District, taxing entities
• Dallas County Tax Office (jurisdictions it collects for)
• Dallas County Clerk, Recording Division
• Seagoville Code: Water and Sewers (Art. 19.03)
• Seagoville Code: Minimum Building Standards (Art. 21.04)

ZIP codes we buy in: 75159