Tax sale purchase clear of title defects?

[Skip Rivera]

I'm looking at a property in Riverside county CALIFORNIA that is coming up for tax sale. The county guarantees that the successful bidder will get the property free of all encumbrances. My problem is that I know a former would-be purchser who got a preliminary title report from Chicago Title that read the owner--and three prior title holders--never had any legal interest in the property. His deal fell out of escrow I Dr the issue. So do tax sale purchases clear all clouds from title, making them marketable? I hope someone will give their views on this.

Skip

[Leonard L.]

Tax sales just wipe out junior encumbrances, they do not guarantee clean title.  I have looked at tax auctions where there is a tax assessor number, so you think good conveyable lot.  But legal description contained phrase "one half of lot [x]..." which is a dead give away that this is not a legal lot under the Subdivision Map Act.  That means it is a crime to convey later, although the government gets immunity for selling it to you, of course.   This often happens when the assessor office creates a separate lot for tax purposes but the larger lot of which it is part was not legally subdivided.

Also, as pointed out above, tax liens, weed abatement charges, HOA, etc all usually survive. Plus even if title squeaky clean, most title companies will require that you hold it for a year before they will insure a subsequent transfer.

Caveat emptor.