Investor · Mission Viejo, CA · Member since 2012 · 627 posts · 204 votes
Surely there are people here who know about property tax lien sales in California. What are the gottchas? Does the sale wipe out the mortgage(s)? How long does the owner have to redeem, opr can they? Thanks! I read on one site that the owner has one year to challenge the sale, but they have to do it in court. It seems they would have little chance of winning.
Investor · Mission Viejo, CA · Member since 2012 · 627 posts · 204 votes
14y
Stumped?
I found some more information, but just find it had to believe that it is possible to get it free and clear, except for tax liens (and preservation of easements). Of course, that may also mean that bidding with go up to or beyond market price...
Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
14y
Stephen: California doesn't have tax lien sales. There are only tax deed sales. Big difference. Read the info about tax sales at any of the larger CA counties tax collector websites. That gives you most of the basic information about the sales. Most of the CA county tax sales are now held online. I've had very good success with tax sales (all vacant land). When it went to online auctions and during the bubble, I stopped bidding because the competition made the final bids go over market.
Most of the properties at sale won't have any outstanding mortgages, as there is ample time for a lender to redeem before sale. Most SFH properties will be redeemed before sale as well. It's a lot of research to prepare for bidding and easily everything you plan to bid on can get redeemed and will not be offered at sale.
There are some special assessments that can attach after sale, that's just a risk. But a real one as vacant properties often generate lots of special abatement fees. The fees are not there when you bid on it but it can show up months later and it attaches to the tax bill, hence the property.
CA props purchased at tax sale do not qualify for title insurance for one year after sale, so plan accordingly.
Yes, you're correct that you need to determine "How long does the owner have to redeem" since that could be a big issue later on for you. I don't know a lot about California tax deed sales but I do know the laws can change often in some municipalities. Make sure you research all the legal aspects.