Butte County, California

Tax Deed208,334 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Tax Deed

Redemption periodstate default

Up until 5pm the last business day before the sale (5-year delinquency threshold)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer

Governing statutestate default

California Revenue & Taxation Code, Div. 1, Pt. 6

Notes

California tax-deed county (no lien certificates). Butte County Treasurer-Tax Collector sells tax-defaulted property online via Bid4Assets after ~5 years delinquency (power to sell). June 2026 primary auction held; August 7–10, 2026 re-offer sale of ~105 parcels listed (8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. PDT staggered closes). Properties sold AS IS; right of redemption ends 5:00 p.m. the last business day before auction. Excess proceeds claims under R&T Code §4675.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Typically annual summer primary + optional re-offer (e.g. June 2026 primary; August 7–10, 2026 re-offer)

Platform

Bid4Assets — Butte County Tax-Defaulted Properties ↗

Deposit rules

Register on Bid4Assets before bidding. Bid deposit and $35 non-refundable processing fee posted per sale cycle on the storefront (confirm deadline for the August 2026 re-offer). Full settlement per Bid4Assets/county terms after winning; documentary transfer tax collected with purchase. Non-payment forfeits deposit and can ban future auctions. Research zoning/access via county interactive maps before bidding.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

A California tax deed conveys free of most liens existing before the sale (R&T Code §3712), but federal tax liens survive (IRS 120-day post-sale redemption), as do taxes/assessments that become payable after the sale. Special assessments, 1915 Act bonds, and Mello-Roos may remain if not satisfied from sale proceeds — verify parcel-by-parcel.

Quiet title

Not a statutory prerequisite, but practically required — most CA title insurers will not insure a tax-deed property without quiet title (commonly 3–6 months, $3,000–$8,000+) or extended waiting after recording; one-year challenge period under R&T Code can delay free-and-clear marketable title.

Deal maths for California

Assessment ratio: 1× of market value
Typical quiet title: $3,000–$7,000 · 9 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 401: property is assessed at full cash value, so the statutory ratio is 1.0.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Butte County Treasurer-Tax Collector — Property Tax Auctions ↗

530-552-3700

Clerk of court

Butte County Clerk-Recorder (records tax deeds) ↗

Property appraiser

Butte County Assessor — parcel / land-use data ↗

GIS / parcel map

Butte County Interactive Maps / Data Search ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

Chico / downtown–university edge

CSU Chico employment and student/renter demand supporting liquid SF and small multifamily turns

Oroville / Highway 70 corridor

County-seat services and relative entry pricing versus Chico core

Paradise rebuild corridor

Post-Camp Fire rebuild pipeline and insurance-driven reconstruction demand into 2026