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  • Starts June 17, 2024 at 11:00 AM ET (8:00 AM PT)
  • Ends June 20, 2024 Closing times vary; check Auctions for details.
  • Deposit Deadline June 10, 2024 at 4:00 PM ET (1:00 PM PT)
  • Settlement Deadline June 25, 2024 at 4:00 PM ET (1:00 PM PT)
The County of Santa Barbara is offering parcels for online auction.
Bids start as low as $20,707.00

These are all NO RESERVE auctions! Preview Now!

Deposit Requirements

A single $5,000 deposit (plus a $35 processing fee) is required to participate in the County of Santa Barbara Tax Sale. Your deposit must be received by Bid4Assets NO LATER THAN 4:00 PM ET (1:00 PM PT) Monday, June 10th. Please make your deposit well in advance of the auction in order to ensure your eligibility to bid.

Click here for additional information on funding a deposit

Create a Bid4Assets account which is required to participate in any county tax sale. The process is quick, free, and easy.

Already have an account? Proceed to Deposit Instructions

Video Tutorial Thumbail Icon

Please select the orange “Click Here for Deposit Instructions” link above to submit your deposit. Please review the following additional information on deposits.

  1. Only one deposit is required to bid on every property available in this tax sale.
  2. Please reference the deposit ID listed in the instructions, rather than the ID of any individual auction. The deposit ID listed in the instructions is unique to this tax sale. Regardless of which auctions you plan to bid on, please use the deposit ID in the instructions.
  3. Only certified check/money order or wire transfer are accepted. ACH, direct deposit, credit card, or money transfers will be rejected. Please do NOT deposit funds directly into Bid4Assets’ escrow account.
  4. There is no limit to the amount you can bid; the bid deposit does not cap your bidding; it is simply a requirement to participate. Please do NOT send more money than the amount required deposit, or your deposit may be rejected.
  5. Please allow up to 48 business hours to acknowledge receipt of your deposit. You will be notified by email and in your message center when you are cleared to bid. Please note, certified checks/money orders may take an additional business day to process.
  6. For deposits received after the deadline, no guarantees can be made for participation. Bid4Assets’ deposit services team works diligently to clear deposits as quickly as possible, even late ones.

Bid4Assets urges all bidders to examine the title, location and desirability of all properties available in this sale to their own satisfaction prior to bidding.

If you are unable to discern desired information about a property through independent research, you are encouraged to contact the County in which the property is located. This information can be found in the “Contact Information” section.

Below you will find a video guide hosted by Bid4Assets CEO providing tips and highlighting best practices for researching tax sale properties prior to bidding for your convenience.

You will find an additional video below demonstrating useful navigation tips for this landing page which can help you prepare for the sale prior to bidding.

When you are ready to bid click “Place Bid” on the auction page.

place bid

Enter your bid amount in the Bid Amount box and be sure to agree to all auction terms. At the bottom of the bid window, you will be prompted to reenter your Bid4Assets password as a security measure. A more comprehensive, step-by- step guide to bidding is available by clicking here.

Additional Bid information

What is an Auto Bid? An auto bid is a maximum proxy bid which is held in confidence by the system. Bid4Assets will use only as much of the maximum bid as is necessary to maintain the bidder's high bid position or to meet the reserve. Please note: If two bidders place auto bids for identical amounts on the same auction, the earlier bid will take priority.

Examples of Auto Bid:

  • 1. If the auction has a minimum bid of $200 and you enter your maximum bid amount of $400, your bid will automatically be placed at $200. Your bid will automatically increase as other bidders participate, up to your $400 maximum bid amount.
  • 2. If the auction has a Reserve Price of $20,000 (this amount is hidden from bidders) and you enter an Auto Bid of $18,000, your bid will automatically be placed at $18,000. The Reserve Price has not been met so there will be no winning bidder unless additional bids are placed.
  • 3. If the auction has a Reserve Price of $20,000 (this amount is hidden from bidders) and you enter an Auto Bid of $21,000, your bid will automatically be placed at the Reserve Price of $20,000. If another bidder jumps in, your bid will automatically increase until you meet your $21,000 maximum bid.

What is Overtime?
Overtime is the extension of an auction’s close time that keeps the auction open as long as there is active bidding on it. It occurs automatically when a bid is placed within the last few minutes of an auction. The auction will remain open until an entire overtime increment (typically five minutes) has passed without any bidding. The overtime increment for an auction will be indicated on the auction listing.

How can I Monitor My Auctions?
When participating in multiple auctions at once, it is advisable to only actively bid on one property at a time. You can find a list of properties that you have bid on in the “my bid list” tab of your profile. You will also receive confirmations of your placed bids as well as notifications of being out bid in your message center.

Can I bid on Withdrawn or Postponed Auctions?
No. Auctions must be live in order for you to able to place a bid. If a property is withdrawn or postponed by a county for any reason, it is no longer open for bidding. Please note, Bid4Assets does not have knowledge of why a property is withdrawn or postponed.

At the close of an auction, the highest bidder will be deemed the winner. After all the auctions in the county have closed, winning bidders will be notified in their message center if they have won any auctions. They will also receive details on auction settlement requirements. The winning bidder will see each of the parcels that they won listed as a link to DeedWizard.

DeedWizard allows bidders to provide vesting information quickly and easily for any property they have won and access settlement instructions. Any bidder that does not win a parcel or does not participate in the auction after submitting a deposit will receive a refund.

Winning Bidders

  • Winning bidders will be notified in their message center after every auction in the tax sale has closed. A DeedWizard link is provided for quick and easy transfer of vesting information.
  • Please review the county terms of sale for the payment deadline and make sure you have enough funds on hand to complete the sale within the deadline cited prior to bidding.
  • When making a settlement payment, please reference the auction IDs for the specific parcels you won.
  • Your deed will be transferred by the county within the timeframe specified in the county’s terms of service. Generally, this can be anywhere from three weeks to three months. For questions relating to the timeline on recording the deed, please contact the county.

All Other Participants

  • Any bidder who does not win one or more parcels after submitting a deposit will receive a notification after all auctions have closed informing them were an unsuccessful bidder.
  • Deposits for unsuccessful bidders will be refunded automatically with no need for request.
  • Refund checks will be sent via eCheck shortly after the close of the auction. Bidders will be notified via an additional email when their eCheck refund has been sent.
  • Refund eChecks will be sent to the email address associated with a bidder’s profile on Bid4Assets and made out to the name associated with that bidder’s Bid4Assets account. Please ensure this information is up to date before submitting a deposit.

Research and Inspect Thoroughly Before You Bid
Prospective purchasers are urged to examine the title, location and desirability of the properties available to their own satisfaction prior to the sale.

Properties are sold "AS IS"
The sale of these properties should not, in any way, be equated to real estate sales by licensed salespeople, brokers or realtors. The County of Santa Barbara makes no guarantee, expressed or implied, relative to the title, location or condition of the properties for sale. Property taxes currently due will be paid from the proceeds of the sale.

Important Disclaimer
The County of Santa Barbara is not liable for the failure of any device that is not owned, operated, and managed by the state or county, that prevents a person from participating in any sale. “Device” includes, but is not limited to, computer hardware, a computer network, a computer software application, and a computer Web site. The County of Santa Barbara assumes no liability for any other possible liens, encumbrances or easements, recorded or not recorded.

Please Note
Prospective purchasers are advised that some bonds or other assessments which are levied by agencies or offices other than the treasurer-tax collector may still be outstanding after the tax sale; in addition, the I.R.S. has the option of redeeming, up until 120 days after the sale, any property on which there is an I.R.S. lien recorded.

You must be at leaset 18 years old to bid
ALL SALES ARE FINAL!

General Tax Sale Information
* Please allow popups from bid4assets.com to download the property list for this sale.
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