Upon approval of the Board of Supervisors, County-owned property is put up for auction. At the auction, the land can be sold as an individual parcel or with several other parcels, depending upon the manner in which the Board of Supervisors determine is best suited to the County interest. All sales are subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors.

In a public auction, the County can give no greater title than it has. Therefore, if a parcel of property has defects in the title where the property was improperly conveyed by a previous owner, or for some other reason has a defect in the title, the County cannot be responsible for the defects. For this reason, the County conveys title to the land sold at public auction by Quit Claim Deed rather than Warranty Deed. An Affidavit 120 will be prepared for each property sold. Once the 120 days elapses (after recording date), these two documents are your "warranty" to the property.

It is a good idea for the prospective purchaser to keep the following points in mind at a public auction conducted by the County:

1. The property can usually be purchased at a figure substantially less than comparable property at private sale;
2. The property does not include an Abstract of Title;
3. There is an element of risk in the purchase of the property in that there may be unknown defects in the legal title; and
4. The correction of the defects is the sole responsibility of the purchaser.

The Board of Supervisors conducts these auctions as a public service. The Board attempts to make a complete and full disclosure of all matters concerning the property known to the Board at the time of the sale.