Delinquent tax lists · California
San Mateo County delinquent tax list
Short answer: San Mateo County has two delinquent tax lists. The official one is published by the County Treasurer-Tax Collector before each scheduled sale, free to download, and it lists parcel numbers and amounts owed with no owner contact. The year-round one is the delinquency record underneath it, where 3,036 (estimated) owners near Redwood City currently carry a distress signal. California is a deed state, so a winning bid at the sale takes the property itself.
Distressed owners near Redwood City
3,036
Within 25 miles of the county centre, refreshed daily. San Mateo County is a major metro county.
Top-deal discount target
~39% under market
Average start bid across the 20 strongest San Mateo leads right now.
Avg. spread per top deal
$225,000
On a typical $583,000 estimated value.
Coverage centers on Redwood City, the San Mateo County seat and reaches 25 miles out, widening to 50 when the market runs thin.
San Mateo County tax sale rules at a glance
The mechanics that decide what you are actually buying, and how long the owner keeps a way out. The full California rules, timelines and deficiency detail sit on the state page, since they apply to every county here.
| County | San Mateo County, California. County seat: Redwood City. |
|---|---|
| Who publishes the list | The County Treasurer-Tax Collector for San Mateo County. |
| What the sale transfers | California is a deed state. A winning bidder gets the deed itself, so a winning bid transfers ownership of the property. |
| Rate and cadence | County tax-defaulted land auctions after five years of delinquency, often online. |
| After the tax sale | The deed transfers at the sale. Whether the former owner can still redeem afterward depends on California law and the kind of sale, so read the county's sale notice before bidding. |
The California delinquency clock
Where a San Mateo owner sits on this line is what decides whether they will take a low cash offer today.
The San Mateo list, ranked hardest-first
Representative profiles from our ranking model for the Redwood City area. The live list, with exact locations, photos and owner details, is one free scan away.
- #1Notice of default for 32 days. Owners in this spot often want out fast, before a foreclosure hits their credit.$259K start bid · ~45% under market
- #2About 3 years of unpaid property taxes. The bill keeps growing, which often pushes owners to sell sooner.$302K start bid · ~44% under market
- #3Foreclosure auction on record. The clock is likely ticking, and owners this close to an auction often take a fast cash offer over losing the home.$245K start bid · ~45% under market
7 more ranked Redwood City deals behind the scan
Unlock the full Redwood City list freeFree scan · no card needed
What the San Mateo list is made of
Most distressed owners carry more than one signal, so these bands overlap. Stacked signals rank highest.
How San Mateo compares across California
San Mateo County is the 15th largest of the 58 California counties covered here, and it runs denser in distressed owners than the California average, at 41.2 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against a state figure of 39. It accounts for about 2% of every flagged property across the California counties on this site.
| County | Seat | Flagged owners | Per 10k residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | Los Angeles | 42,614 | 43.7 |
| Riverside County | Riverside | 11,955 | 48.4 |
| Orange County | Santa Ana | 9,377 | 29.7 |
| San Diego County | San Diego | 8,314 | 25.3 |
| Alameda County | Oakland | 8,228 | 50.8 |
| San Bernardino County | San Bernardino | 7,188 | 33 |
Density matters more than the raw count when you are choosing where to work. A smaller county with a high per-capita figure often has less competition per lead than the metro next door.
How far under market these close
The official San Mateo list vs. this one
Both are worth having. They answer different questions.
| San Mateo official sale list | The LowBaller list | |
|---|---|---|
| Who publishes it | The County Treasurer-Tax Collector | LowBaller, from county and public records |
| When it exists | Only in the run-up to each scheduled sale | Year round, refreshed daily |
| Format | A PDF or spreadsheet of parcel numbers and amounts owed | A ranked table with a map pin, photo and estimated value on every row |
| Owner contact | Not included | Phone and email on unlock, and no credit is spent when nothing verifies |
| Ranking | Alphabetical or by parcel number | Hardest situation first, by foreclosure stage, years behind and equity |
| Timing advantage | Everyone bidding sees the same list on the same day | Owners appear months before any auction, while a private sale still solves their problem |
Working the San Mateo list
What actually matters in a county this size, at this level of distress, under California timelines.
Off the main road
San Mateo County ranks 15 of 58 covered California counties and holds about 2% of the state's flagged properties. Most buyers never scroll this far down the state, which is the entire argument for working it.
Above the state norm
San Mateo runs 41.2 flagged properties per 10,000 residents against 39 statewide. More pressure per capita than the typical California county, and more owners carrying two or three signals at once.
Redwood City and everything around it
San Mateo works off Redwood City as its seat, and the scan reaches 25 miles out from there, widening to 50 when the list runs thin. In a county this shape that usually means several towns, each with its own price level.
The California clock
Foreclosure here typically runs 4 to 6 months from filing to sale. The tax clock and the mortgage clock run independently, so check both before you decide how hard a deadline an owner is actually facing.
Why San Mateo investors work it before auction day
No bidding war
At the sale you are one of a room full of bidders on the same parcel. Months earlier you are the only person who called.
You can see the house
A private sale means an inspection and a clean title search. Deed auctions in California rarely give you either.
The owner keeps something
An owner with equity who sells early clears the tax debt and walks away with money. At the sale, they usually walk away with nothing.
San Mateo County delinquent tax list FAQ
How do I get the San Mateo County delinquent tax list?
Two lists exist and they are not the same. The official one comes from the County Treasurer-Tax Collector, is published as a PDF or spreadsheet before each scheduled sale, and disappears between sales. The year-round one is the delinquency record itself, which is what LowBaller compiles: roughly 3,036 properties around Redwood City currently carry at least one distress signal, ranked by how much pressure the owner is under.
Is there a free San Mateo delinquent property tax list PDF?
Yes. The County Treasurer-Tax Collector publishes the pre-sale list free of charge, usually as a PDF or a downloadable spreadsheet tied to a specific sale date. It gives you parcel numbers and amounts owed. It does not give you owner contact details, an estimated value, or any indication of which owners would actually take a low cash offer.
When is the San Mateo County tax sale?
San Mateo County publishes its own schedule, and it moves. The California pattern is the thing that holds steady: County tax-defaulted land auctions after five years of delinquency, often online. Check the county's pre-sale notice close to the date, because the list shrinks daily as owners redeem.
Can I buy San Mateo tax-delinquent property before the auction?
Yes, and it is usually the better trade. There is no bidding war, the owner clears the debt with a clean sale instead of a forced one, and you are not buying blind. The window is the months between the delinquency appearing in the record and the sale being scheduled, which is exactly the period this list covers.
What does a winning bid actually get you in California?
California is a deed state, so a winning bidder takes the deed itself, so a winning bid transfers ownership of the property. The deed transfers at the sale. Whether the former owner can still redeem afterward depends on California law and the kind of sale, so read the county's sale notice before bidding. That difference matters more than the discount: in a lien state you are buying a debt with a yield, and in a deed state you are buying a house.
How far below market do San Mateo deals close?
The strongest current leads near Redwood City support start bids around 39% under estimated value. Across the whole list, hard distress such as a scheduled auction or a stacked tax lien closes 25 to 45% under market, while softer signals like long-distance ownership land closer to 15 to 30% under. San Mateo runs denser in distress than the California average, so stacked-signal owners, the ones who accept the widest discounts, turn up more often here than in a typical county in this state. Equity sets the ceiling, because an offer cannot go below what clears the owner's mortgage.
How many tax-delinquent properties are there in San Mateo?
About 3,036 properties within 25 miles of Redwood City currently show at least one motivation signal in public records, and tax delinquency is among the most common. That works out to 41.2 flagged properties per 10,000 residents, against 39 across California as a whole, and makes San Mateo the number 15 of the 58 California counties covered here by population. That figure moves daily as owners pay, redeem or fall further behind.
Do I need a San Mateo address to search, or can I search the whole county?
Either. Run the scan on any San Mateo ZIP and you get the full ranked list for the surrounding area, or check one specific address to see whether that owner carries a distress signal. The scan is free; the full list opens with a 7-day trial, and credits are only spent when an owner's phone number comes back.
More on San Mateo County
Delinquent tax lists nearby
Keep going
The San Mateo owners who will sell cheap are on this list today.
Not in 2026 sale season. Now, months before the auction, while a quiet private sale still solves their problem. Scan free and browse every one.
Scan San Mateo freeInformational summary, not legal or investment advice. Rates, redemption periods and sale formats are summarized at the California state level and can be changed by statute or applied differently by San Mateo County. The County Treasurer-Tax Collector and the county's own pre-sale notices control every schedule, deposit and bidding rule. Verify before you bid.