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Kings County
Kings County
Kings County is a Central Valley county anchored by Hanford and Lemoore (home of NAS Lemoore). Cotton, dairy, almonds, pistachios, and processing facilities define the economy. Real estate is a mix of small-city residential, military-driven Lemoore housing, and large ag parcels. Distressed volume is moderate, with frequent ag and dairy files.
Property in Kings
What every owner, heir, and investor should know.
Owning a home in Kings.
Kings homeowners face California's standard rules with an ag and military-base overlay.
- Property taxes are paid in two installments due November 1 and February 1; delinquencies run after December 10 and April 10.
- Proposition 13 caps annual assessed-value growth at 2% absent a change of ownership or new construction.
- The Homeowners' Exemption reduces assessed value by $7,000 for an owner-occupied principal residence; file with the Kings County Assessor.
- Williamson Act contracts can lower assessed value on qualifying ag land.
- Power to Sell triggers after five years of delinquency.
- Excess proceeds claims must be filed under R&TC §4675 within one year of the tax deed recording.
Investing in Kings.
Kings has a meaningful ag and small-city deal flow.
- Tax-defaulted property auctions are run by the Kings County Tax Collector, typically online via Bid4Assets.
- The Kings County Recorder is the source for deeds, deeds of trust, liens, water-related instruments, and reconveyances.
- The Kings County Assessor's records cover ownership, assessed value, Williamson Act status, and parcel maps.
- Trustee sale notices typically appear in The Hanford Sentinel.
- Diligence focus: water rights and irrigation district assessments, dairy/feedlot environmental liens, federal land adjacency (NAS Lemoore), and ag-specific encumbrances.
After a Kings foreclosure or tax deed sale.
In Kings, distressed property resolves through California's nonjudicial trustee sale process or the county tax-defaulted property sale program.
- Tax-defaulted property sales are conducted by the Kings County Tax Collector under R&TC Part 6.
- Owners may redeem before the sale by paying all defaulted taxes, penalties, fees, and costs.
- Excess proceeds may be claimed by parties of interest within one year of the tax deed recording.
- Trustee sale surplus is distributed under Civil Code §2924k by lien priority, then to the trustor.
- Federal tax liens, IRS liens, irrigation/reclamation district assessments, and HOA dues may survive a tax sale.
- Bankruptcy filings stay sales; check PACER and the Recorder before any auction.
Courts and records in Kings.
- Superior Court of California, County of Kings — Hanford Courthouse, 1426 South Drive, Hanford, CA 93230. Civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, traffic, and small claims.
- Court of Appeal — Fifth Appellate District (Fresno) hears Kings appeals.
- Kings County Clerk-Recorder — 1400 W Lacey Blvd, Hanford, CA 93230.
- Kings County Assessor-Clerk-Recorder — 1400 W Lacey Blvd, Hanford, CA 93230.
- Kings County Tax Collector — 1400 W Lacey Blvd, Hanford, CA 93230.