Nine counties. Different places to start.
Know the county before you buy the property.
Find the official tax-auction route, Recorder, property tools and local questions for the county you’re researching. Private trustee auctions still follow the individual notice.
Alameda
Start by separating Alameda County’s tax sales from privately conducted foreclosure auctions. An Oakland or Hayward property can appear in both kinds of records; the sale document tells you which route matters.
Open county guide Tax-sale route: GovEaseContra Costa
Contra Costa publishes a clear online tax-sale route through GovEase. Use that for county tax auctions; use the named trustee and the individual notice for a mortgage foreclosure.
Open county guide Tax-sale route: Public SurplusMarin
In Marin, a low-cost parcel can require more land-use homework than the auction itself. Start with the official sale route, then establish jurisdiction, legal access and whether your intended use is feasible.
Open county guide Tax-sale route: GovEase (published 2023 sale)Napa
Napa’s published auction page is an archive. Use it to understand the past sale, while treating the next sale date and offered parcels as questions to verify with the Tax Collector.
Open county guide Tax-sale route: MyTaxSaleSan Francisco
San Francisco is both a city and a county, but its Recorder, Tax Collector and private foreclosure trustees still do different jobs. Identify the seller first, then use the right information trail.
Open county guide Tax-sale route: MyTaxSaleSan Mateo
San Mateo County’s tax-auction service is separate from ACRE’s assessor and Recorder tools. Use the auction site for bidding and the county’s property and recorded-document resources to establish what you would buy.
Open county guide Tax-sale route: Bid4AssetsSanta Clara
Santa Clara has a specifically announced October–November 2026 county tax auction. That makes it a useful example of why registration deadlines and parcel status matter well before the bidding starts.
Open county guide Tax-sale route: MyTaxSaleSolano
Solano’s tax-sale information page links MyTaxSale and a separate power-to-sell parcel list. Use those as different stages of the research process, not interchangeable inventory lists.
Open county guide Tax-sale route: Bid4Assets (November 2025 sale)Sonoma
Separate Sonoma’s historical tax-auction record from a current opportunity. The November 2025 sale is a research source; a later purchase needs a fresh offering or a verified current seller.
Open county guide