SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego County's annual property tax auction opened to bidders around the world Friday morning, with more than 400 properties to be sold.
The online auction will run through Wednesday, San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister said.
"This is our 40th annual property auction, and we want every single parcel sold so it can get back on the tax roll, generating revenue for the county," McAllister said. "We have 53 residential or commercial properties, 324 timeshares and 65 parcels of land for sale."
Bidders had to register by Feb. 20 to participate.
All interested bidders submitted a refundable $1,000 deposit and a non-refundable $35 processing fee.
All sales are final, so McAllister cautions that this is a buyer-beware sale. Owners of the properties to be auctioned had until 5 p.m. Thursday to avoid the property going up for auction by paying all taxes and fees owed.
The county makes attempts to contact property owners before any auction. The 2020 sale will be the largest on record with properties valued at $12.675 million expected to be available. The previous largest sale was 2017, with $7.8 million in sales.
"Our online auction platform has allowed us to make this auction available to people around the globe," McAllister said. "Last year, we sold 449 properties for $2.8 million."
