If you are a property owner in California, you are responsible for paying property taxes. That means you’ve probably gotten some mail from the Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office requesting that you pay up.
In the case of 23 owners of 36 different parcels in Monterey County, it also meant that their long-delinquent payments landed them on a list of properties that will go up for auction online starting at 8am on Saturday, March 21, with a closing time of 1pm Wednesday, March 25. Posted under the header “Special Opportunity” on bid4assets.com, the updated auction portal lists 15 parcels because some property owners have “redeemed” their delinquency, generally by paying what they owe.
Such is the case with Calvary Church in Prunedale, which occupies two parcels spanning both sides of Prunedale North Road connected by a pedestrian bridge. The parcels, owned by Calvary Community Church of Salinas Inc. and valued at $2.2 million combined, had been publicly posted for starting bids of $17,300 and $56,850. Church officials did not respond to requests for an interview, but a staff member contacted onsite says they simply got their paperwork in order. (Property owners have a deadline of 5pm Friday, March 20 to redeem the properties and be de-listed. For prospective buyers, a March 17 deadline to register to bid has passed.)
“When it comes to the auction process, it is our last resort after many mailings, certified mailings and personal contacts at times, after a long process, generally five years,” says County Treasurer-Tax Collector Jake Stroud. “Our goal is to always help property owners and work with them to make their payments and resolve any potential delinquency and avoid an auction.”
These auctions generally take place about every two years, selling off properties that are at least five years delinquent on taxes. The last one took place on May 29, 2024.
As of press time, properties still listed for the March 20-21 auction include a 4,614-square-foot lot adjacent to Highway 1 in Sand City with a minimum bid of $2,750 (and assessed value of $3,155) and a 6-acre lot along Highway 156 in Castroville with a minimum bid of $18,550 and an assessed value of $128,110.
The minimum bid amounts are determined by the Tax Collector based on factors such as how much is owed plus any penalties. Properties that do not sell will be reposted May 23-27.