Public records, in plain English
Saw a foreclosure-related filing on your property?
Assignments of trustee and lis pendens filings are public records. Many owners never get a clear letter explaining what they mean. This page is that explanation.
First things first
What these filings are.
Assignment of trustee
A deed of trust names a trustee, the person or company with the legal power to run a foreclosure sale. An assignment of trustee is the lender or servicer recording a new name in that role.
It usually means the loan is in default and the lender is getting its paperwork in order. Recording one does not always mean a sale date is set.
Lis pendens
Lis pendens is Latin for a pending lawsuit. It is a public notice that a lawsuit involving the property has been filed.
It clouds the title until the case is resolved or the notice is released. It is a warning to anyone looking at the property, not a sale date.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Local rules vary, and your situation is its own thing.
How people find out
Did I get a notice?
Notices of a foreclosure sale are usually mailed to you, filed with the county clerk, and posted at the courthouse. Those are hard to miss once they go out.
An assignment of trustee or a lis pendens is different. It may only show up in county records. Many owners first hear about it from a letter, a call, or a search someone else ran on the property.
Two things worth doing. Pull the county instrument number so you know exactly what was filed and when. And if certified mail arrives later, do not ignore it. Open it, read it, and keep the envelope.
County by county
How to look it up yourself.
These filings usually live in the county clerk's Real Property or Official Public Records search. Try your name or the property address, then open anything labeled Assignment of Trustee, Substitute Trustee, Lis Pendens, Notice of Sale, or Trustee Modification.
Collin County
Dallas County
Denton County
Tarrant County
Assignment of trustee style documents may appear as Trustee Modification, or TRM.
Write down the instrument number, the recording date, the parties named, and any sale or auction date on a Notice of Sale.
If you get stuck, text us the property address and the county at (817) 632-5756, and we will point you to the right search screen.
A short checklist
What to do next.
Confirm it is your property.
Match the address and the instrument number on the filing to your property. Mistakes and mix-ups happen.
Call your loan servicer.
Ask for the status of the loan in plain terms. Is it in default, what is the reinstatement figure, and is any sale date set.
Gather your paperwork.
Your most recent mortgage statement, any HOA or tax letters, and anything that documents a hardship.
Know the options in plain English.
Reinstate, modify, sell, short sale, or deed in lieu. None of these is best for everyone. The right one depends on your numbers and your timeline.
Treat deadlines as real.
If a sale date appears on any notice, take it seriously. Dates in these filings are not suggestions.
If you want a person
How we help.
We will walk you through what a filing like this usually means in DFW, for free, with no pressure and no obligation.
If selling or a cash option makes sense for your situation, we can talk about that too. Only if you want to.
Text us the property address and the county, and we will take it from there.
The fine print, in plain words
The First Oak is a Fort Worth real estate holding company operating as J&M REI LLC. We are not a law firm and we are not your lender. We are not licensed real estate agents, attorneys, or financial advisors, and nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.
We buy houses for our own account. If we ever make you an offer, we are the buyer, and we do not represent you.
Foreclosure-related filings are public records. We may reach out to owners when filings appear in those records.
How we handle anything you share with us is in our privacy policy. You can ask us to stop contacting you at any time.