View Hundreds Of Riverside County Properties Set To Hit The Auction Block

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Nearly 1,000 properties in Riverside County that are in default due to non-payment of property taxes are set to hit the auction block.

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved putting the tax-defaulted properties up for public auction via open electronic bidding. The Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector sought and got unanimous board support to partner with hosting site Bid4Assets.com to conduct the internet-based auction of seized homes and vacant parcels.

The sales are scheduled for April 23 and 24. Prospective buyers will need to register online and make a deposit to participate.

A total of 946 properties in default are slated for the selling block. If the property owners satisfy the tax liens before the auction, the properties will be removed from the list.

The complete list of properties that are proposed for inclusion in the auction as of Jan. 13 can be downloaded: TTC 223 Tax Sale List. To view details about each property, use the Riverside County Assessor-Clerk-Recorder's property search tool here. The search tool requires a property address or a nine-digit property ID number (PIN).

The current total estimated aggregate value of the properties in default is $28.92 million.

"The purpose of offering tax-defaulted properties is to collect unpaid taxes and return the property to a revenue-generating status by conveying the property to another owner, or motivating the (assessed party) to redeem," according to an agency statement posted to the board's agenda.

Minimum bids for real estate in arrears will start as low as $100 for several properties in Wildomar, with the highest minimum ask listed as $1.16 million for a residential property in Desert Hot Springs, documents show.

The minimum bid amounts set by the county represent tax and sales costs. Officials said that minimum prices would be reduced on some properties that do not generate interest in the first round of bidding.

This will mark the 14th year that the county has turned to internet-based auctioning for its entire portfolio of assets with liens.

Under state law, before a property under lien can be sold off, it must be held in abeyance for at least five years.