Public Auction of Tax Defaulted Properties

WWW.SCCTAX.ORG
(408) 808-7932

DATE:	June 26, 2009
TIME:	10:00 am
PLACE:	Board Chambers
	County Government Center
	70 West Hedding Street
	San Jose, CA 95110

List of Tax Defaulted Properties

To obtain a list of tax defaulted properties, please mail a check or money order in the amount of $25.00 to our office. Please do not send cash. Your request should include your name, address, phone number and email address for weekly updates. As our next auction is scheduled for June 26, 2009, the next auction list will be compiled after April 15, 2009.

Thank you for your interest in the Santa Clara County Tax Collector’s Public Auction. The following information has been prepared to assist you in the bidding process:

GENERAL INFORMATION

A physical inspection of the property before bidding is strongly recommended. The Tax Collector can not guarantee the condition of the property or assume any responsibility for conformance to codes, permits, easements or zoning ordinances.

It is possible that property sold at the tax auction may not be developable under existing laws. Parcel maps are available in the Assessment Service Unit of the Assessor’s Office – 5th floor, 70 West Hedding St, San Jose, CA 95110 or via their website at www.scc-assessor.org. While all possible assistance is given in locating properties on maps, the exact location, desirability and usefulness of the property must be researched and determined by the prospective purchaser.

Tax Defaulted property will be sold on an “AS IS” basis. The County assumes no liability for any other possible encumbrances recorded or not recorded. A complete investigation of all encumbrances should be made before attending the tax sale.

All sales are final, unless ruled invalid by the County Board of Supervisors.

The former owner’s right to redeem the property ceases at 5:00 p.m. the day prior to the auction date. The former owner has a one-year challenge period to prove that the sale is invalid. This must be done in a court of law. During this one-year challenge period, it may not be possible to obtain a clear title to the property from a title company. In the event that the former owner is successful at overturning the sale, then any improvements done to the property would not be reimbursed.

Purchased property must be paid for at the time of sale with cash, cashier’s check, traveler’s checks or money orders made payable to you. If you are the successful bidder you will be required to endorse the check(s) to the Tax Collector. Personal checks will not be accepted. The payment amount will include the full purchase price plus any transfer taxes.

Once the list of delinquent properties is prepared it will have a minimum bid. What we recommend is that you get a cashier’s check, traveler’s check, or money order made payable to you for the minimum bid of your planned purchase. Then depending on what you are willing to spend, bring your certified funds in high/small increments. This will allow you flexibility in asserting the parcel price. If the certified funds are over the purchase price, the excess funds will be refunded to you by mail in approximately two to three weeks after the purchase date.

As a bidder, You are responsible to know the laws pertaining to tax auctions and the laws pertaining to ownership and the associated liability you will assume as the owner.

BIDDER’S INSTRUCTIONS

An Auction Clerk will be on hand to answer your questions before the start of the public auction. Please refrain from asking questions during the auction.

Registration will be held between 8:00 am and 10:00 am on the morning of the auction. You will be required to complete a registration form at that time and submit a bidder’s security deposit of $1,000.00. This deposit should be in the form of cash, cashier’s check, money order or traveler’s checks. No personal checks will be accepted.

The bidder’s security deposit will be applied to the purchase price or will be refunded if no purchase occurs.

Please be prepared to present a photo I. D. – drivers license or passport at the time of registration.

The deed will be prepared in the name of the actual purchaser at the sale. If you wish title to be vested differently, we require a notarized letter from the individual for whom you are acting as agent, stating the manner in which title should be vested. This letter must be presented at the time of registration.

Upon completion of the registration form, you will receive a numbered “bidder card”. Please hold this card high so the auctioneer will be able to acknowledge your bid.

The properties will be auctioned in numerical order. Items missing or not offered have either been redeemed or withdrawn prior to the sale.

Payment must be made at the time of the sale. You will be asked to sign a purchase agreement and receipt. Please keep this receipt until you have received your purchaser’s deed. You should receive the deed approximately two weeks from the auction date.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Following is a sampling of some typical questions asked by prospective bidders:

Q. Can I mail in or submit a sealed bid for a property in the auction?
A. No. The public auction requires your presence, or that of your representative, to verbally bid upon the properties.

Q. Can I obtain a property available at the tax sale by paying the delinquent taxes thereon prior to the tax sale date?
A. No. Legal title to tax-defaulted property subject to the tax collector’s power to sale can be obtained only by becoming the successful bidder at the county tax sale.

Q. How do I find or see a property I’d like to bid on at the tax sale?
A. While we try to give all possible assistance in helping prospective purchasers to pinpoint a property location, vacant land (which normally accounts for most property offered at our tax sale) has no address. Its approximate geographic location can be determined through the use of county assessor plat maps and perhaps, a map book. Exact boundary lines of a property can be determined only by a survey of the property initiated at the purchaser’s expense. Improved properties frequently (but not always) will bear a situs (street) address, making it quite simple to assess the location.

Q. How can a bidder pay for a property at the tax sale?
A. Payment must be made in cash or certified funds (cashier’s check, certified bank check, money order or traveler’s check, with proper identification). All checks and/or money orders should be payable to you. If you are the successful bidder, you will be required to endorse the check(s) to the Tax Collector. PERSONAL CHECKS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

Q. How will I know how much to make my checks for?
A. Once the list of delinquent properties is prepared it will have a minimum bid. What we recommend is that you obtain your certified funds made payable to you for the minimum bid of your planned purchase. Then depending on what you are willing to spend, bring your certified funds in high/small increments. This will allow you flexibility in asserting the parcel price. If the certified funds are over the purchase price the excess funds will be refunded to you by mail in approximately two to three weeks after the purchase date.

Q. What are the conditions of payment for a property at the tax sale?
A. All sales require full payment, which includes the transfer tax and recording fee, at the time of the tax sale. Each sale will be finalized before the Tax Collector asks for bids on the succeeding property. ALL SALES ARE FINAL

Q. Do liens or encumbrances on a tax-defaulted property transfer to the new owner after purchase of the property at a tax sale?
A. Chapter 7, Section 3712 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code states: The deed conveys title to the purchaser free of all encumbrances of any kind existing before the sale, except:

(a) Any lien for installments of taxes and special assessments, which installments will become payable upon the secured roll after the time of the sale.
(b) The lien for taxes or assessments or other rights of any taxing agency which does not consent to the sale under this chapter.
(c) Liens for special assessments levied upon the property conveyed which were, at the time of the sale under this chapter, not included in the amount necessary to redeem the tax-defaulted property, and, where a taxing agency which collects its own taxes has consented to the sale under this chapter, not included in the amount required to redeem from sale to the taxing agency.
(d) Easements constituting servitudes upon or burdens to the property; water rights, the record title to which it is held separately from the title to the property; and restrictions of record.
(e) Unaccepted, recorded, irrevocable offers of dedication of the property to the public or a public entity for a public purpose, and recorded options of any taxing agency to purchase the property or any interest therein for a public purpose.
(f) Unpaid assessments under the Improvement Bond Act of 1915 (Division 10 (commencing with Section 8500) of the Streets and Highways Code) which are not satisfied as a result of the sale proceeds being applied pursuant to Chapter 1.3 (commencing with Section 4671) of Part 8.
(g) Any federal Internal Revenue Service liens which, pursuant to provisions of federal law, are not discharged by the sale, even though the tax collector has provided proper notice to the Internal Revenue Service before that date. (A title search initiated at the prospective purchaser’s expense should reveal any liens or encumbrances on a property in the tax sale.)
(h) Unpaid special taxes under the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 53311) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code) that are not satisfied as a result of the sale proceeds being applied pursuant to Chapter 1.3 (commencing with Section 4671) of Part 8.

Q. When does the right to redeem a tax-defaulted parcel subject to the power to sell cease?
A. The right to redeem a tax-defaulted parcel subject to the power to sell ceases at the close of business on the last business day prior to the sale. This year, the right to redeem ceases by 5:00 p.m. on the day prior to the auction. Please be aware if it is subsequently determined that the Tax Collector should not have sold a specific property, the Board of Supervisors has the authority, under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 3731, to rescind the sale.

Q. How can I determine what use I can make of a tax sale property before I purchase it?
A. Consult the zoning department of the city within which a property lies or the zoning section of the County Department of Planning and Development for a parcel in an unincorporated area (not lying within a city boundary) regarding use of parcel. Examine the County Recorder’s records for any recorded easements on a property.

Q. How soon can I take possession of a property after my purchase at the tax sale?
A. You should consult an attorney. Generally, the successful bidder may take possession of a property after making payment in full and complying with any conditions set forth between the tax collector and the successful bidder.

Q. How is the minimum price on a property offered at a tax sale determined?
A. State law dictates that the minimum price offered at public tax sale should be no less than the total amount necessary to redeem, plus costs. The minimum bid on a parcel can be set at a greater amount to assure collection of the amount of delinquent taxes, penalties and costs thereon.

Q. Is a tax sale publicly advertised?
A. Yes. State law dictates that notice of a tax sale must be published three times in successive seven (7) day intervals before the tax sale date, in a newspaper published in and of general circulation within the county.

Q. How will title in the deed to the purchaser be vested?
A. Title is vested in the name of the actual purchaser at the sale. If title is to be vested differently, we require a notarized letter from the individual for whom you are acting as an agent, stating the manner in which title is to be vested. A deed is void if issued to a fictitious person.