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Contracts for deed · TX, OH, MNContract for deed laws: what happens if the buyer misses a payment

Under a contract for deed the seller keeps title until the last payment, so the buyer's biggest risk is forfeiture – losing the home and the payments made. States limit that. Texas: 30 days to cure before forfeiture, and after 40% or 48 monthly payments, or once the contract is recorded, the seller must use a trustee sale with at least 60 days to cure (Prop. Code §§5.064–5.066). Ohio: no forfeiture until 30 days after the default, then a notice giving 10 more days; after five years of payments or 20% of the price paid, the seller must foreclose in court (R.C. 5313.05–5313.07). Minnesota: the contract ends only after a served notice and 60 days to cure, 90 days if the seller is an investor (Minn. Stat. §559.21). Texas and Ohio also make the seller record the contract – within 30 and 20 days.

Default, cure and recording

  1. Texas – cure

    30 days' notice to cure before forfeiture (§§5.064–5.065).

  2. Texas – equity protection

    After 40% or 48 monthly payments, or once recorded: trustee sale only, at least 60 days to cure (§5.066).

  3. Texas – recording

    Seller records within 30 days of signing (§5.076).

  4. Ohio – cure

    Forfeiture only after 30 days from default, then a notice with 10 days to perform (R.C. 5313.05, 5313.06).

  5. Ohio – equity protection

    After 5 years of payments or 20% of the price paid: foreclosure and judicial sale only (R.C. 5313.07).

  6. Ohio – recording

    Seller records within 20 days and delivers a copy to the county auditor (R.C. 5313.02(C)).

  7. Minnesota – cancellation

    Served notice; contract ends 60 days later unless the buyer cures and pays costs, 2% of the default and an attorney-fee amount; 90 days for investor sellers (§559.21 subd. 2a, 4).

What a buyer should do

  • Check that the contract was recorded – it protects the buyer's interest and, in Texas, triggers the trustee-sale protection.
  • Keep proof of every payment; the 40%, 20% and five-year thresholds are counted from them.
  • Act on a default notice inside the cure period – the statutes fix what has to be paid.

What the TC or closer tracks

  • The recording deadline: 30 days in Texas, 20 days in Ohio.
  • Payment totals against the equity-protection thresholds.
  • Any notice of default and its cure date as a dated task.

Questions buyers ask

Can I lose everything on a contract for deed if I miss a payment?

Not right away. Texas gives 30 days to cure and requires a trustee sale after 40% paid or recording; Ohio requires court foreclosure after five years or 20% paid; Minnesota gives 60 days after a served notice.

Does a contract for deed have to be recorded?

In Texas within 30 days of signing (§5.076) and in Ohio within 20 days (R.C. 5313.02(C)); recording protects the buyer's interest.

How long does a Minnesota contract for deed cancellation take?

At least 60 days after the notice is served, or 90 days when the seller is an investor (Minn. Stat. §559.21).

Related guides

Track the recording deadline and any default cure date as tasks with an owner and due date in ClosingCode, with the recorded contract on the deal.

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Sources: Tex. Prop. Code §§5.064–5.066, 5.076; Ohio R.C. 5313.02, 5313.05–5313.07; Minn. Stat. §559.21 (official statute sites, read October 25, 2026).

General information, not legal advice. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm or brokerage.