Santa Cruz County California Tax Deed Sales

The county seat of Santa Cruz County is Santa Cruz, and the population in 2000 was 255602. A California map showing the location of this county is at http://county-map.digital-topo-maps.com/california.shtml. You can visit the Santa Cruz County website at http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us. 

California Tax Deed Process

Property that is tax-defaulted after five years is sold by the County Tax Collector in order to satisfy the defaulted taxes. The Tax Collector may offer the property for sale at public auction, a sealed bid sale, or a negotiated sale to a public agency or qualified non-profit organization. Public auctions are the most common way of selling tax-defaulted property, and the property is sold to the highest bidder. The Tax Collector may re-offer property at a reduced price at the same or next scheduled sale if no bid was received when the property was last offered for sale at public auction.

The former property owner has one year from the date the tax deed is recorded to initiate proceedings to challenge the validity or irregularity of the tax deed sale. This must be done in a court of law. During this period, title to the property cannot be cleared and it is recommended that the tax deed holder delay any improvement on the property

Rogue Real Estate Investor Collection contains detailed information on tax sales in all 50 states, including California tax deed sales.

Santa Cruz County Tax Deed Sales

Information about tax defaulted property sales is available on the Santa Cruz County Tax Collector's website at:

http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/ttc/auction.htm AND http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/ttc/2005list.htm

If you have additional questions about these tax sales, you can contact the Santa Cruz County Tax Collector at:

Fred Keeley, Tax Collector
701 Ocean Street - Room 150 - Santa Cruz CA 95060
Phone: 831 454 2510
Fax: 831 454 2257
Website: www.santa-cruzcountyca.us/ttc