Sell Land in California for Cash | Free Parcel Review

Where StraightAcre stands in California

California is an active state for us. Every parcel gets a public-record review before we discuss a number, and every proposed deal goes into a written contract that names the structure, direct purchase or assignment.

The Business and Professions Code defines a broker as a person who, for compensation, sells, buys, or negotiates real property “for another or others.” We buy for ourselves. Whether assigning a contract for a fee is an act for another is a live question in Sacramento: Assembly Bill 1850 would require a license and a written notice that the wholesaler will not take title, and it was held in committee in 2026. Until the law changes, the contract answers the question and your attorney should read it. Untrue or misleading statements about real property are a misdemeanor under the false advertising statute, which is the standard we write to.

Find your assessor parcel number and county offices

Every county assessor keeps the roll and the parcel maps; the tax collector bills and sells tax-defaulted land; the recorder files the deed; and the planning department decides what can be built. The five counties below hold the largest share of the state’s vacant-land market.

Find the assessor’s parcel number on a tax bill, a prior deed, or the county parcel viewer.
Check the assessor map book and page so the acreage and shape match what you believe you own.
Ask the tax collector whether the parcel is current, delinquent, or tax-defaulted, and for the redemption amount.
Send us the parcel number and county. Many California lots have no street address at all.

Find your assessor parcel number and county offices
County	Assessor	Tax collector	Recorder	Planning	GIS	Flood
San Bernardino	Assessor property information	Tax collector	Document recording	Land use services	Parcel access	Flood control district
Riverside	Assessor, clerk, recorder	Treasurer and tax collector	Assessor, clerk, recorder	Planning department	Map my county	Flood control district
Kern	Assessor and recorder	Treasurer and tax collector	Assessor and recorder	Planning and natural resources	GIS menu	Flood information
Los Angeles	Assessor portal	Treasurer and tax collector	Registrar and recorder	Regional planning	Enterprise GIS	Public works
Lake	Assessor and recorder	Tax collector	Recorder information	Planning	Parcel viewer	Check floodplain status

A sale is a change in ownership that resets the assessed value for the buyer, so the current assessed value tells you about your tax bill, not about the price a buyer will pay. Our valuation guide explains the difference.

Tax default, the five-year clock, and redemption

The property tax lien attaches on January 1. The first installment is due November 1 and delinquent after December 10 with a ten percent penalty, and the second installment follows in the spring. Anything still unpaid at the close of business on June 30 makes the parcel tax-defaulted, which starts a separate clock: five years or more after default, the tax collector gains the power to sell. Nonresidential commercial property can be sold after three years.

Redemption penalties run at one and one half percent a month from July 1 of the year of default. You may open a five-year installment plan at any time before 5 p.m. on the last business day before the collector gains the power to sell, and a plan in good standing keeps the parcel off the sale list. The right to redeem ends at the close of business on the last business day before the tax sale begins; a mailed payment must arrive by then. After a sale, the former owner and other parties of interest may claim excess proceeds within one year after the tax deed is recorded.

A sale to us can retire the default at closing if the price covers the redemption amount, but the collector’s deadline does not move for a pending contract. Get the redemption figure in writing from the tax collector and read our back taxes guide first.

Inherited land and authority to sign

California offers several routes, and the right one depends on the date of death, the value, and whether the land was the decedent’s home. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, real property worth $69,625 or less can pass by an affidavit filed with the superior court no sooner than six months after death. A primary residence worth $750,000 or less can pass by a petition to determine succession after 40 days. The general small estate affidavit, at $208,850, covers personal property. Larger estates go through probate, where a personal representative with full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act may sell real property after giving notice of proposed action, and one with limited authority needs court confirmation.

A trustee can prove a trust and its powers with a certification of trust instead of handing over the whole instrument, and a surviving spouse can petition for an order that administration is not necessary for property passing to the spouse. The title insurer decides which papers it will insure over, so ask early. Our inherited land guide lists the documents to gather.

Escrow, deeds, transfer tax, and withholding

Independent escrow companies must be corporations licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Banks, title businesses, attorneys with a bona fide client relationship, and brokers acting in their own transactions are exempt, and most land closings run through an escrow or title company. Who pays escrow, title, and transfer costs follows county custom and whatever the contract says, so ask for the allocation in writing.

A grant deed implies two covenants: that the seller has not already conveyed the estate, and that it is free of encumbrances the seller created. A quitclaim deed promises nothing. Counties may charge a documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 of consideration, and a general-law city may add half that amount; charter cities set their own rates, so the recorder in your county has the actual figure. A preliminary change of ownership report signed by the buyer goes in with the deed, or the recorder adds a $20 fee.

The buyer or escrow holder must withhold three and one third percent of the sales price for the Franchise Tax Board on Form 593 unless an exemption applies, and sales of $100,000 or less are exempt. A seller may instead certify a gain-based amount. Our closing guide covers the order of events.

Legal parcels, fire zones, flood, wetlands, and farmland contracts

The Subdivision Map Act bars the sale of any parcel that required a final or parcel map until that map is recorded, and a buyer will ask whether the lot was legally created. An owner can request a certificate of compliance from the city or county; a parcel that does not comply receives a conditional certificate with the conditions that would have applied when it was created. Dividing land into five or more lots for sale also needs a public report from the Real Estate Commissioner before any lot is offered.

Hazard disclosures apply to any real property, not just houses. A seller without an agent must disclose that a parcel is in a FEMA special flood hazard area, a dam inundation area, a very high fire hazard severity zone, an earthquake fault zone, a seismic hazard zone, or a state responsibility area for wildfire, when the seller knows it or the county has posted the parcel list or map. Fire hazard severity zones describe hazard rather than risk and are mapped for state and local responsibility areas. In the coastal zone, most development needs a coastal development permit, and cities and counties with certified programs process about three quarters of applications. The State Water Board’s wetland definition and dredge-or-fill procedures, in effect since May 28, 2020, reach waters of the state that lost federal protection.

Land under a Williamson Act contract stays in agricultural use for a rolling term of at least ten years, the contract binds whoever buys it, and cancellation requires a fee of twelve and one half percent of the land’s unrestricted value; nonrenewal starts a nine-year wind-down instead. Check FEMA flood maps first, then the county flood links above, then our flood zone guide.

Questions California land sellers ask

Does the transfer disclosure statement apply to vacant land in California?

The transfer disclosure statement and the natural hazard disclosure statement apply to single-family residential property. Separate statutes still require any seller of real property to disclose a flood hazard area, a fire hazard severity zone, a fault zone, or a seismic hazard zone when the seller knows of it or the county has posted the map.

When can the county sell my tax-defaulted land?

Five years or more after the June 30 on which the parcel became tax-defaulted, the tax collector gains the power to sell. You can redeem until the close of business on the last business day before the sale, and an installment plan opened before that date keeps the parcel off the list.

Can I sell inherited land in California without a full probate?

Possibly. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, land worth $69,625 or less can pass by court affidavit after six months, and a primary residence worth $750,000 or less by a succession petition after 40 days. Larger estates need letters, and the title insurer decides what it will accept.

Who pays the documentary transfer tax?

The contract decides. The county rate is $0.55 per $500 of consideration, cities may add to it, and charter cities set their own rates, so ask the recorder in your county for the current figure.

Will money be withheld from my proceeds at closing?

The escrow holder withholds three and one third percent of the sales price for the Franchise Tax Board on Form 593 unless an exemption applies. Sales of $100,000 or less are exempt, and a seller may certify a smaller gain-based amount.

How do I know my lot is a legal parcel?

Ask the city or county for a certificate of compliance under the Subdivision Map Act. A parcel that was divided without a required map receives a conditional certificate, and a buyer will want to know which one applies.

Does a Williamson Act contract stop me from selling?

No, but the contract runs with the land and binds the buyer. Cancellation costs twelve and one half percent of the unrestricted value, and nonrenewal takes nine years to run out.

Primary sources we read

What the free review covers in California

For a California parcel we pull the assessor’s parcel number and owner of record, the assessed value, the tax collector’s status, FEMA flood data, fire hazard severity zone status where mapped, visible recorded access and easements, and whether we would make an offer and on what structure. Daniel Michael Newland signs off on each review, which is a public-record summary and not an appraisal, survey, title opinion, or approval to build.

We buy directly or assign our purchase contract to a vetted buyer, and we tell you in writing which before you sign. In Illinois and Rhode Island we make direct purchases only, unless a licensed broker is involved. You receive your proceeds at closing through a licensed title or escrow company. Direct purchases use lender or transactional funding; any financing condition belongs in the purchase agreement. TechStack Consulting LLC, a Texas LLC, is the contracting entity.

Read how the free parcel review works; the form below shows the current schedule.

Tell us about your land in California

Give us the county and the assessor’s parcel number if you know them, plus anything about taxes, access, or the estate that matters. A parcel number is optional, and the inquiry does not commit you to sell.