Alpine County

Alpine homeowners benefit from California's strong owner protections, but should plan around the county's small staff, seasonal access, and wildfire risk.

• Property taxes are billed by the Alpine County Treasurer-Tax Collector in two installments: first installment due November 1 (delinquent after December 10), second installment due February 1 (delinquent after April 10).
• Proposition 13 caps annual increases on assessed value at 2% per year unless there is a change of ownership or new construction.
• The Homeowners' Exemption reduces assessed value by $7,000 for an owner-occupied principal residence; file the claim with the Alpine County Assessor.
• Supplemental tax bills are issued when assessed value changes due to a transfer or new construction.
• Wildfire and insurance availability are real concerns in the eastern Sierra; many owners rely on the California FAIR Plan.
• Properties with five years of unpaid taxes become subject to the Power to Sell and may be sold at a tax-defaulted auction.
• Owners can redeem at any time before the sale by paying defaulted taxes, penalties, fees, and costs.
• After a tax sale, parties of interest may claim excess proceeds under Revenue and Taxation Code §4675 within one year of the deed being recorded.

Alpine offers a thin but real opportunity set, mostly through tax-defaulted sales and the occasional estate or quiet-title situation.

• The Alpine County Treasurer-Tax Collector conducts tax-defaulted property auctions; sales are typically run online through Bid4Assets when scheduled.
• Volume is very low — investors should expect long stretches with no sale and then a small batch of mountain parcels.
• The Alpine County Clerk-Recorder is the official source for deeds, deeds of trust, liens, and reconveyances; pull the chain before bidding.
• The Alpine County Assessor's parcel records are the starting point for ownership and assessed value.
• Most distressed residential foreclosures resolve as nonjudicial trustee sales, with notices published in local adjudicated papers.
• Diligence risks: wildfire exposure, access in winter, federal liens, environmental liens on legacy mining or grazing parcels, and limited comparable sales for valuation.

In Alpine, distressed property typically resolves through California's nonjudicial trustee sale process or the county's tax-defaulted property sale program.

• Tax-defaulted property sales are conducted by the Alpine County Treasurer-Tax Collector under Revenue and Taxation Code Part 6.
• Owners may redeem before the sale by paying all defaulted taxes, penalties, fees, and costs.
• After a tax-defaulted sale, parties of interest — former owners, lienholders, heirs, and trusts — may file a claim for excess proceeds within one year of recording of the tax deed.
• Trustee sale surplus in nonjudicial foreclosures is governed by Civil Code §2924k; the trustee distributes to junior lienholders by priority, then the trustor.
• Federal tax liens, IRS liens, certain municipal liens, and HOA assessments may survive a tax sale — verify by a recorded title search before bidding.
• Bankruptcy filings stay sales; check PACER and the Recorder before any auction.
• Claim packages typically require a recorded chain of title, government ID, and proof of interest (heirship, trust, lien instrument).

1. Superior Court of California, County of Alpine — Main Courthouse, 14777 State Route 89, Markleeville, CA 96120. Civil, family, probate, criminal, traffic, and small claims are handled at this single courthouse.
2. Court of Appeal — Third Appellate District (Sacramento) hears appeals from Alpine County.
3. Alpine County Clerk-Recorder — 99 Water St, Markleeville, CA 96120. Recorded documents, vital records, and fictitious business names.
4. Alpine County Assessor — 99 Water St, Markleeville, CA 96120. Parcel records and assessed values.
5. Alpine County Treasurer-Tax Collector — 99 Water St, Markleeville, CA 96120. Property tax bills and tax-defaulted sales.