San Mateo County, California

Tax Deed742,893 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. San Mateo Treasurer-Tax Collector uses Grant Street MyTaxSale (sanmateo.mytaxsale.com); next sale often unscheduled with year-round free registration and email notice. Older Bid4Assets storefronts exist historically — confirm current vendor on tax.smcgov.org before depositing. Power-to-sell after 5 years delinquency; redemption ends 5:00 p.m. last business day before auction.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Periodically when inventory warrants (next sale TBD; register for notifications)

Platform

MyTaxSale (Grant Street) — San Mateo County ↗

Deposit rules

Free registration; bidder deposit + ~$35 non-refundable processing fee required before bidding (historical Bid4Assets cycle used $1,500 + $35 — confirm current MyTaxSale amount when sale posts). Balance due within 5 business days of close; unused deposits refunded ~10 days.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

CA tax deed free of most pre-sale liens per R&T §3712; federal tax liens survive (IRS 120-day right); post-sale taxes, easements, and unsatisfied special assessments can remain — verify parcel-by-parcel.

Quiet title

Practically required for marketable title insurance on CA tax deeds (quiet title common; many insurers delay until ~1 year post-recording).

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

San Mateo County Treasurer-Tax Collector ↗

Clerk of court

San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder ↗

Property appraiser

San Mateo County Assessor — Property / Maps ↗

GIS / parcel map

San Mateo County GIS / Assessor maps ↗

Areas trending up

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

Redwood City / North Fair Oaks

Peninsula job corridor with multifamily and transit-oriented demand into 2026

South San Francisco / biotech cluster edge

Life-sciences employment supporting renter and owner demand vs. coastal luxury pockets

Daly City / Colma edge

Relative affordability on the northern Peninsula with BART access and denser housing stock