Nevada County, California

Tax Deed102,195 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. Nevada County Tax Collector sells properties tax-defaulted five or more years via online auction on GovEase. Upcoming: November 5, 2026 (registration opens October 2026; property list expected ~August 2026). Prior cycles: Nov 13, 2025; Nov 7, 2024; January re-offers. Owner may redeem until 5:00 p.m. the day before auction begins. Sold AS IS; all sales final; one-year challenge window from tax deed recordation.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Typically annual fall primary (e.g. Nov 5, 2026) plus optional winter re-offer

Platform

GovEase — Nevada County Tax Auction ↗

Deposit rules

Register on GovEase when registration opens (e.g. October 2026 for the Nov 2026 sale). Deposit and processing fees per GovEase storefront for that cycle. County grants no access for inspection; research before bidding. Non-payment risks forfeiture and ban.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

California tax deed clears most pre-sale private liens (R&T Code §3712); federal tax liens survive (IRS 120-day redemption); post-sale taxes/assessments remain. Confirm special assessments parcel-by-parcel.

Quiet title

Practically required for marketable/insurable title after CA tax deed; one-year challenge period can delay free-and-clear status.

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

Nevada County Tax Collector — Auction (Property Tax Sale) ↗

Clerk of court

Nevada County Clerk-Recorder (records tax deeds) ↗

Property appraiser

Nevada County Assessor — parcel data ↗

GIS / parcel map

Nevada County GIS / Assessor mapping ↗

Areas trending up

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

Grass Valley / Nevada City core

County-seat and historic-downtown employment with tourism and professional-service demand

Truckee / I-80 mountain edge

Second-home and remote-work demand with Tahoe recreation adjacency (underwrite short-term-rental and fire-risk rules)

Lake of the Pines / Penn Valley fringe

Suburban SF inventory with school-driven buyer pool west of Grass Valley