Orange County will hold a public auction on September 17th to auction off 114 timeshare properties located in beachfront resort destinations to recover overdue property taxes. These properties, located in the three cities of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and San Clemente in Orange County, all have at least one installment of property taxes unpaid within the last five years.
The properties up for auction are part of four different resorts. Marriott’s Newport Coast Villas is under Marriott’s management, Laguna Shores and San Clemente Cove are managed by Tricom Management, and San Clemente Inn is operated by Grand Pacific Resorts. If the owners can pay the full amount of property taxes before 5:00 PM on the 16th, the properties will not be auctioned off.
Timeshare properties have shared ownership among multiple owners, with each owner having the right to use the property for a certain time period each year. Additionally, there is a membership-based timeshare system where members pay annual fees to use vacation properties in different locations within a certain timeframe.
Residents interested in participating in the online auction must register on the Bid4Assets website by 1:00 PM on the 12th, and pay a non-refundable fee of $35 and a refundable deposit of $100. If not successful in bidding, the deposit will be refunded within 10 business days. Bid4Assets is an online real estate auction website founded in 1999, having sold over 125,000 properties with sales exceeding $1 billion.
According to the Orange County Chronicle, Shari L. Freidenrich, the Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector, stated, “We hope to provide an opportunity for these properties to be sold and restore their usage while ensuring transparency and fairness in the bidding process.” Funds from the auction can be used to cover outstanding taxes, and owners have a year to declare any excess proceeds.
Freidenrich was elected as the President of the California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors in June 2022, representing all 58 counties in California. Orange County set a record property tax collection rate of 99.2% by the end of the fiscal year on June 30th.
The previous online auction for Orange County properties was on June 25th, with 24 bidders competing for two timeshare properties and nine vacant lots.
Individuals can obtain information on the properties and lot details being auctioned by visiting the OC Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office or the Bid4Assets website, including unpaid tax reports.
Experts caution that buying timeshare properties may not necessarily result in a bargain, as bidders may still have to pay membership or related fees and may require permission from the operator, such as Marriott, to use common facilities.
According to the American Resort Development Association, the annual market sales for timeshare developers and operators decreased to $4.9 billion in 2020 during the pandemic, steadily climbing to $8.1 billion in 2021, surpassing $10 billion in the following years. The association’s data shows that in 2024, there were over 461,000 transactions with an average selling price of approximately $23,200 for each timeshare property. ◇