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Property Management

The City Property Manager is responsible for all City property excluding City facilities. We've provided the answers to some frequently asked questions. Please contact Planning Services at (254) 750-5650 or 750-5651 if you have further questions about property that belongs to the City of Waco.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How can I find out who owns a specific piece of property?

A. The McLennan County Appraisal District (MCAD) is responsible for keeping up with the ownership of each piece of property in McLennan County. They maintain this information so the tax notice can go to the right person. Their telephone number is 752-9864. You will need to provide them with the street address or the legal description of the property (lot and block). If you do not know this information, you can go to MCAD and look at their maps to determine what it is. (Their office is on 26th Street between Franklin and Clay Avenues.)

Q. If a City owned house has a red or green tag, does this mean I can buy it from the City?

A. No. A red or green tag simply indicates that a structure is not safe to be in, or habitable. Repairs in one or more of three basic areas (electrical, plumbing, or structural) must be done before the building can be used again. Licensed repairmen must do the work, and a City Inspector must approve the repairs before the tag can be removed. Waco has over 400 tagged structures, but only about 20 belong to the City.

Q. What is the difference between a green tag and a red tag?

A. A green tag indicates that the Inspector estimates that the repair will not cost more than 50% of the value of the building after repairs; a red tag indicates that the Inspector estimates the repairs will cost more than 51% of the value of the building, thus making it unlikely that the owner will choose to repair rather than tear the structure down. A practical difference is that although both tags require an immediate response from the owner, a red tag is the closest step to demolition.

Q. If back taxes are owed on a property, does this mean I can go down, pay the back taxes, and become the owner?

A. No. Although some jurisdictions may permit some variation involving back taxes, Texas law does not work that way. Here, back taxes subject the owner to losing his property through a series of court actions, but simply owing back taxes does not mean that somebody else can come in and get the property. In Texas, after the court proceedings have occurred, the final step is to have the Sheriff auction the property on the Court House steps. These sales may occur the first Tuesday of any month after publication in the newspaper and required posting places. For more information on these auctions, call the law firm of McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, at 756-7755.

Q. How does the City get the property it has from tax foreclosures?

A. If no one at the Court House auction bids on the property located within the City limits, it is struck in trust to the City of Waco. Generally this means that the City of Waco will try to sell it, and the proceeds will be split with the taxing authorities the back taxes are owed to. If the property is outside of any city limits, McLennan County takes the property in trust. Usually, the school district receives the biggest share of the taxes. Although we have a unified appraisal system and only one tax bill, most properties are subject to four taxes: school district, county education (McLennan Community College), city, and county.

Q. How can I buy property that the City holds in trust because of tax foreclosure?

A. Sealed bid auctions are held periodically based on numbers of request for city property. Usually 25 to 30 properties are offered at a time. If there is a particular piece of City-held property you are interested in, phone 750-5669, and inform the City of Waco's Property Manager of your interest. When an auction is scheduled, it will be announced on our web page, in the Waco Tribune-Herald, on Waco's cable TV government access channel, and with a limited number of signs on the property. A recent big change is that residential structures as well as vacant lots are now also sold through the City of Waco Housing and Community Development Services Department.

Q. Is all City-owned property sold through the Property Management office (750-5669)?

A. No. Any residential property that can have a house on it will probably be sold through the Housing Program (750-5656). Any property considered readily marketable will be listed with a broker. (Phone the Property Management office to see which realtor has the listing you like.) The City does not expect to sell some of its holdings, such as city infrastructure (utilities, park land, needed City office buildings, streets, etc.). Some pieces of property the City may someday want to sell, but because of legal requirements, paperwork needing to be corrected or completed, consideration for potential use by the City, or some other miscellaneous situation unique to that piece of property, the City will hold prior to placing them on the market.

Q. Where do I call if I want to buy an old house from the City to renovate?

A. The City of Waco Housing and Community Development Services Department, (254) 750-5656, now handles most residential properties in the City. At one time, the Excess Property office (now Property Management) handled both houses and residential lots, but with Waco's new emphasis on increasing home ownership, properties that can be used for a home (whether vacant or with a structure) are now sold through the Housing Program.

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