We Buy Bay Area Homes Even with Back Taxes

Owing back taxes on your home is stressful, and it gets worse the longer it sits. Unpaid property taxes accrue penalties and interest. A federal or state tax lien attaches to the property and has to be dealt with before, or at, any sale. And in the worst case, the county can move toward a tax sale of the home.

We buy Bay Area homes with tax debt for cash, and in most cases the taxes are paid off directly from the sale proceeds through escrow. You don't need to clear the debt before selling, the sale clears it.

How it works

A title search shows exactly what's owed, whether it's delinquent property taxes, an IRS lien, or a state FTB lien. Escrow pays the liens from the proceeds at closing, and you keep whatever equity is left. Because we pay cash and can close in 3 to 7 days, this can move fast enough to head off a pending tax sale.

If a foreclosure is also in the picture, or there are other title issues, we handle those in the same transaction.

Always confirm the specifics with a tax professional. But know that tax debt does not have to stop you from selling. Call or text 415-800-1415, or fill out the short form below. A real local person answers, usually within the hour during the day, and you'll have a cash offer within 24 hours.

How property tax debt escalates in California

Missing an installment does not put your home at immediate risk. It starts a slow clock. The county adds a penalty when a payment goes unpaid, and if the bill is still open at the end of the fiscal year, the property becomes tax-defaulted. From there, redemption penalties accrue month after month, and the balance grows faster than most people expect. A homeowner who fell behind during one hard year often does not look at the number again until it has become a much bigger number.

A tax-defaulted property does not go to auction quickly. Counties can only sell a home after it has sat in default for years, not months. That sounds like breathing room, and it is, but two things make waiting expensive. The penalties keep compounding the entire time, eating equity every month. And once a county actually schedules a tax sale, your options narrow fast.

Most Bay Area counties offer installment plans that let you pay a defaulted balance down over several years while stopping the escalation. If you want to keep the house and can carry those payments on top of your current taxes, that plan is often the right answer, and we will tell you so. Where the plan fails is when the payments do not fit the budget that caused the problem in the first place, or when the house itself, the maintenance, the mortgage, the sheer cost of Bay Area ownership, is the thing you need out from under. Selling converts a compounding debt into a settled one.

Property taxes are not the only tax that attaches to a house

Sellers tend to lump every tax problem together, but these are two different problems wearing the same name. Delinquent property taxes are owed to the county and are secured by the home automatically. Income tax debt is different: the IRS or the California Franchise Tax Board has to record a lien, and once they do, that lien attaches to your house too.

Escrow treats them the same way. The title company orders payoff demands, the liens are paid from the proceeds at closing, and you walk away with the debt behind you and the remaining equity in your account. IRS payoff demands and lien releases can take longer to process than county payoffs, so if a federal lien is in play, tell us early and we build it into the timeline. And because selling a Bay Area home can itself create a tax event after decades of appreciation, talk to a CPA before you close, not after. We are buyers, not tax advisors.

Homes that reach us through an estate often carry several years of unpaid taxes because nobody was sure who should pay them. If that is your situation, our probate page covers how those sales work. For a closer look at how recorded liens clear through escrow, see our tax lien page.

When selling to us is not the answer

If your home is in good condition, the amount owed is small relative to your equity, and you have months to work with, listing with an agent will likely net you more even after commissions. The delinquent taxes get paid through escrow either way. Our offer wins when speed matters, when the house needs work no retail buyer will accept, or when a county tax sale or foreclosure is close enough that a 45-to-90-day listing timeline is a gamble you cannot afford.

Other situations we help with

• Inherited Property
• Probate Sale
• Avoiding Foreclosure
• Any Condition
• Tired Landlord
• Divorce Sale

See every situation we buy in →