Get The Turnover

Playbook · California

Bid on a California tax-defaulted property

When property taxes go unpaid for years, the county can sell the parcel at auction. Here's how those sales work, what you actually get, and the many ways a parcel can drop out or cost more than the winning bid.

5 yearsUnpaid before a county may sell
$5,000Deposit to bid (Alameda, Contra Costa, SF)
Day beforeOwner can still pay off until
23Alameda 2026: parcels sold of 92 offered

The whole path at a glance

Flowchart: Watch your county's sale list and notice; Register on its auction site, pay the deposit; Research each parcel: map, zoning, title; Usable lot with legal access? (if not: Walk away); Vacant, or ready for a court process? (if not: Walk away); Still on the list the day before? (if not: Owner paid; it's off); Bid up to your limit, all costs in; Can you wire the balance in time? (if not: Deposit lost, barred); Tax deed recorded and mailed; Wait out the 1-year window; clear titleWatch your county's salelist and noticeRegister on its auctionsite, pay the depositResearch each parcel: map,zoning, titleUsable lot with legalaccess?No: WalkawayYesVacant, or ready for acourt process?No: WalkawayYesStill on the list the daybefore?No: Ownerpaid; it'soffYesBid up to your limit, allcosts inCan you wire the balancein time?No: Depositlost, barredYesTax deed recorded andmailedWait out the 1-yearwindow; clear title
Every step is explained below, with the official source for each fact.

Step by step

  1. Know when a county can sell

    • Property becomes tax-defaulted when taxes are still unpaid on July 1. After five years in default, the tax collector gains the power to sell it at auction, whatever liens it carries. For nonresidential commercial property the wait can be three years.
    • Once that power starts, the county must try to sell within four years. Most sales are public auctions to the highest bidder; some parcels go by sealed bid to neighboring owners, and some go by agreement to public agencies or nonprofits instead of to auction.
    • Each sale is announced: the county notifies the State Controller and publishes the notice in a local newspaper three times, starting at least three weeks before the sale.
    Sources

    State Controller: public auctions · Revenue and Taxation Code §3691 · Marin County: agreement sales

  2. Register and put up the deposit

    • Bay Area counties run these sales online. Alameda and Sonoma use Bid4Assets; Contra Costa uses GovEase. Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco each ask for a $5,000 deposit to bid, plus small platform fees.
    • The minimum bid at a first offering is generally everything needed to pay off the taxes plus the costs of the sale. Parcels that don't sell may be offered again later at a different minimum.
    Watch out: Read the county's own sale notice, not just the auction site: the county's terms decide deadlines and what happens if you don't pay.
    Tools
    Sources

    Alameda County FAQ · Contra Costa County · San Francisco sale notice · Sonoma County FAQ

  3. Research every parcel before you bid

    • Counties sell as is and make no promises about title, location, condition, zoning, access or permits. The research is on you.
    • For each parcel: look it up by its parcel number (APN) on the assessor's records and parcel map; ask the planning department whether it can be built on; check recorded easements, liens and restrictions at the county recorder or with a title report; and find out whether anyone lives on it or a mobile home sits on it.
    Watch out: Many tax-sale parcels are slivers, landlocked lots or strips no one can build on. That's often why the taxes went unpaid.
    Sources

    Santa Cruz County FAQ · Butte County FAQ · Alameda County FAQ

  4. Know what you get, and what comes with it

    • The winner receives a tax deed. It clears most earlier claims, but not all: future tax installments, some special assessments and Mello-Roos taxes, easements and recorded restrictions, and some liens survive the sale. Where the IRS has a recorded lien, it can buy the property back from you for up to 120 days after the sale.
    • Anyone who wants to challenge the sale generally has one year after the deed is recorded. Most title insurers won't insure the property until that year passes, and some want a court quiet title action first.
    • If someone lives there, the county won't remove them. California courts require a court process to remove occupants; locking people out, cutting utilities or removing belongings isn't allowed.
    Watch out: Budget time and legal costs for the year before you can sell or borrow against it.
    Sources

    Santa Cruz County FAQ · Butte County FAQ · Sonoma County FAQ · California Courts: evictions

  5. Check the list again the day before

    • The owner can pay off the taxes until the close of business on the last business day before the sale starts, and the parcel then comes off the list. Counties update their lists daily, so a parcel you researched can disappear the day before.
    • If a parcel doesn't sell, the owner's right to pay off returns.
    Sources

    Revenue and Taxation Code §3707 · Alameda County FAQ

  6. Bid, pay on time, and wait for the deed

    • Set your limit first: the bid, transfer taxes (county, and some cities add their own), platform fees, title work, and any court costs.
    • Winning is binding. Alameda wants the balance by wire within 72 hours; San Francisco within 5 business days. If you don't pay, the deposit is lost, and Sonoma also bars you from future sales.
    • The county records the tax deed and mails it; Alameda says about 60 days after the auction closes.
    Sources

    Alameda County · San Francisco sale notice · Sonoma County FAQ · Contra Costa County

Honest effort and what goes wrong

Real work per parcel: hours of records research before each sale, a wired deposit, a likely loss of parcels to last-day payoffs, and a year of waiting (often with legal costs) after a win before the title is clean. In Alameda County's 2026 sale, 92 parcels were offered: 23 sold, 64 drew no bid, and 5 sales weren't completed.

Next steps

Every Bay Area tax sale on one calendar

Our free auctions calendar lists each Bay Area county's tax-defaulted property sale with dates and deadlines taken from the county's own notice. Get an email when a county announces its next sale.

Open the auctions calendar

Educational only: not legal, tax, real estate or financial advice. Picker's Desk isn't affiliated with any county or auction platform and earns nothing from these links. Talk to a real estate attorney before bidding; rules change, so check each official source. Last checked against the sources October 17, 2026. Spot something out of date? Email roger@pickersdesk.com.