Tax Lien Foreclosures

The Snohomish County Treasurer conducts an ONCE A YEAR Tax Lien Foreclosure Auction, pursuant to RCW CHAPTER 84.64. This annual sale of property includes parcels with at least one year of property taxes that are 3 years old and delinquent; meaning in 2023- if the full year 2020 or any prior years are unpaid as of June 1, 2023, it makes a property eligible for Tax Sale in December 2023.

The 2022 auction was held the first weeks of December 2022, and is in the process of completion. Please be aware that it takes weeks for the Snohomish County Treasurer to complete the FULL legal process, and a ‘list’ of properties that were sold at the 2022 Snohomish County Tax Lien Foreclosure sale will not be available until January 2023, after it is filed in Superior Court. After filing, a copy of the ‘Return of Sale’ will be available on the ‘Requests For Foreclosure Information’ page. That is the only “list of Tax Foreclosure property SOLD or NOT SOLD”. If you are interested in properties ‘NOT SOLD’ at the sale, you will need to see information on the Requests For Foreclosure Information page, as ALL property in Tax Foreclosure sales are ‘sold’. Property that does not have a ‘bidder’ at a tax sale (after any re-offer) are, by law, considered sold to Snohomish County Property Management, to hold in trust for junior taxing districts, per state law. Those properties are called “Tax Title Properties”-view the ‘Requests for Foreclosure Information’ page.

Any other Public record requests for ‘Foreclosure Lists’ or ‘Foreclosure Information’-prior or current year-please see the ‘Request for Foreclosure Information’ page.

Homeowners with property AT RISK for Tax Foreclosure in 2023 (if you have delinquent 2020 property taxes, or prior years) and prospective buyers of Tax Foreclosure properties for next year, please see the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page.

Note: Property that is foreclosed by banks, mortgage companies and other lenders is often sold at ‘Trustee’s Sale’ or ‘Sheriff Sale’ ON THE SNOHOMISH COUNTY COURTHOUSE STEPS ON FRIDAYS. The Treasurer office does NOT have information on those lending agency foreclosures. You may search the Snohomish County Auditor/Recorded Documents for a “Notice of Trustee Sale” and contact the Trustee (the business doing the Foreclosure sale) for information about their sales. For questions regarding the surplus funds generated by these Trustee or Sheriff sales, contact the Clerk of the Snohomish County Superior Court at 425 388-3466 (Trustee Sale) or the Sheriff Civil Unit at 425 388-3522 (Sheriff Levy Sale).