How California tax-defaulted land sales work

California counties auction property whose taxes have gone unpaid for years, often called tax-defaulted land.

The owner can pay until close of business on the last business day before the sale. After that the sale is final, with no right to buy it back.

The tax deed clears most liens recorded before the sale, but not all: easements and water rights of record, Mello-Roos special taxes, unpaid 1915 Act bonds, future tax installments and IRS liens stay with the land, and the IRS keeps 120 days to redeem where it held a lien.

Anyone challenging a sale must first petition the county board of supervisors within a year of the deed. Each California listing on landrush links the official notice it came from.