King County, Washington

Tax Deed2,340,211 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

None once the county treasurer's deed issues (3-year delinquency threshold before that)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer

Governing statutestate default

Revised Code of Washington Ch. 84.64

Notes

Washington tax-deed: Treasurer runs annual foreclosure auction; unsold parcels become 'tax title' held in trust and re-offered by King County Real Estate Services (RES) on Bid4Assets. Two related channels: (1) Treasury foreclosure auction and (2) RES tax-title re-offers. Properties sold AS IS/WHERE IS with no county warranties. Contact: TaxForeclosures@kingcounty.gov.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Treasury foreclosure annually (historically fall); RES tax-title re-offers periodically (e.g. Dec 2025 cycle documented)

Platform

Bid4Assets — King County RES Tax Title / Treasurer foreclosure ↗

Deposit rules

Bid4Assets deposit required before bidding. Recent RES tax-title sales used a single $300 deposit + $35 non-refundable processing fee (vesting info required first). Older Treasury foreclosure cycles used $2,500 + $35 — confirm deposit amount on the specific storefront for the sale you are entering. Full payment by posted settlement deadline (typically ~48 hours+).

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Treasurer’s deed generally extinguishes most private liens; federal tax liens can survive. Verify local improvement district (LID) and other special assessments separately.

Quiet title

Practically often required for title insurance on Washington tax-deed / tax-title property before resale or refinance.

Deal maths for Washington

Assessment ratio: 1× of market value
Typical quiet title: $1,800–$5,000 · 5 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

RCW 84.40.030: "All property must be valued at one hundred percent of its true and fair value in money and assessed on the same basis unless specifically provided otherwise by law." RCW 84.41.030 requires annual revaluation of all taxable real property, with physical inspection at least once every six years.

Offices and records

Tax collector

King County Treasury — Foreclosure / Real Estate Services Tax Title Sales ↗

Clerk of court

King County Recorder’s Office (records deeds) ↗

Property appraiser

King County Department of Assessments — eReal Property ↗

GIS / parcel map

King County iMap / Parcel Viewer ↗

Areas trending up

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

Ballard / Fremont

Sustained urban renter and owner demand with transit and employment access; tight inventory vs. outer suburbs

Capitol Hill / Central District

Core multifamily absorption and walkable job access supporting price resilience

Bellevue / Redmond Eastside nodes

Tech employment corridor with strong absorption and relative scarcity of entry inventory