El Dorado County, CA
Online tax-defaulted property auction on Bid4Assets, Nov 6 from 8 a.m. — timeshares sold the same day
El Dorado County's Treasurer-Tax Collector holds its next tax-defaulted property auction on Friday, November 6, 2026, starting at 8:00 a.m., online through Bid4Assets, with a separate timeshare auction the same day. The tax sale auction list for November 6 is posted on the county's page, but the deposit and registration details were still marked as coming soon. Bid4Assets, not the county, registers bidders and takes bid deposits, and the county advises arranging deposits early so the funds clear before bidding starts. Anyone without internet access can bid by fax, and public computers are available at the county library at 345 Fair Lane in Placerville. Each parcel has an auction ID and a stated minimum bid; raises are at least $100 until the stated closing time, and an auto bid will go $100 over competing bids up to the maximum you set. Full payment must reach Bid4Assets by 4:00 p.m. Eastern three business days after the sale.
These parcels have been in tax default for at least five years: at that point the Treasurer-Tax Collector records a Notice of Power to Sell, and from then on the property can be auctioned. The minimum bid is at least the total needed to redeem the parcel plus costs, and the Treasurer-Tax Collector can lower it if a parcel doesn't sell. The owner's right to pay the taxes and stop the sale ends at 5:00 p.m. Pacific on the last business day before the sale, and California has no redemption after that. The buyer receives a tax deed that conveys whatever right, title and interest the former owner had, and nothing more. Most liens are wiped out by a tax sale but not all, and the county leaves it to bidders to find the ones that survive; it makes no guarantee about title, location, condition, zoning or building codes, and no government entity is liable for damage between the sale and the recording of the deed. For parcels in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is an extra stop before bidding.
California rules at a glance
California sells the property itself, not a certificate. Five years after taxes go into default (three for nonresidential commercial property), the county tax collector can auction the parcel to the highest bidder, opening at the amount needed to redeem (Rev. & Tax. Code §§ 3691, 3698.5). The owner can redeem only until the close of business on the last business day before the sale (§ 3707). Afterward, anyone challenging the sale must first petition the board of supervisors within one year of the deed (§§ 3725, 3731) — a validity check, not a buy-back right.
The statute, the bidding and what goes wrong for new buyers are on the California page; every sale date we have sourced for El Dorado County is on the El Dorado County page.
Property & tax profile
The median homeowner in El Dorado County pays $4,753 a year in property tax — below the California median of $5,124 (U.S.: $3,119). That is roughly what a typical home here owes for each year it goes unpaid — the debt that the opening bid at a deed sale is usually built from, plus interest and costs. Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $5,194; homes owned outright, $3,687.
On a home with a mortgage, the lender has its own reason to pay a delinquent tax bill: the tax lien outranks the mortgage, and a tax deed can wipe out the loan. On a home owned outright, nobody but the owner — or the heirs — has that reason. In El Dorado County, 32.0% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (California: 32.6%, U.S.: 39.4%). About the same as the state as a whole.
19.5% of all housing units in El Dorado County are vacant. 15.9% of all units are seasonal or vacation homes, empty by design rather than abandoned. The figure that matters for a buyer at the tax sale is the Census “other vacant” category — not for rent, not for sale, not a holiday home, but a catch-all that includes foreclosures, homes held up by legal proceedings or family reasons, homes needing repairs, and abandoned ones. Here it is 1.1% of all units (California: 2.1%, U.S.: 3.6%). That is below the state rate: fewer empty properties on the list than elsewhere in California.
Half of the homes in El Dorado County were built in or before 1983 (California: in or before 1976). The typical tax bill is 4.4% of the median household income of $108,845 (California: 5.2%).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25077, B25103, B25081, B25002, B25004, B25035, B19013) — see the figures on data.census.gov. Survey estimates with margins of error; anything too uncertain to state is left out.
Before you bid: Registration and deposit rules weren't posted yet when we checked — watch the county's tax sale page and Bid4Assets, and read the county's terms and conditions, right-of-redemption notice and FAQ before bidding. Plat maps come from the Recorder-Clerk at 360 Fair Lane; Bid4Assets answers at 1-877-427-7387.
Official source: eldoradocounty.ca.gov — checked October 4, 2026
More sales: 38 other county sales are on the calendar in November 2026 — see them by date; or the upcoming sales in California.
This page reflects publicly posted county auction notices as of publication and is general information, not financial or legal advice. Sale details can change — always confirm current terms with the county directly.