Last reviewed: 2026-05-10 - Los Angeles County, CA

Sell Your Long Beach, California House With Back Taxes — We Pay Liens at Closing

Back property taxes in Long Beach? California can sell your home for unpaid taxes after 60 months of delinquency. We buy houses with tax liens — pay the taxes at closing, give you the difference in cash, save your credit.

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BuyHousesInCash buys homes with back taxes and tax liens in Long Beach, California. We pay the delinquent taxes from closing proceeds. Sellers walk away with cash and no tax burden, even if a tax sale is scheduled.
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If you owe back taxes on your Long Beach house, BuyHousesInCash can buy it and pay the tax lien at closing. You don't pay anything out of pocket, and you can stop a scheduled tax sale.

Falling behind on property taxes in Long Beach, California can spiral fast. California counties begin tax sale proceedings after a fixed period of property tax delinquency. BuyHousesInCash buys homes with tax liens, tax delinquency, and even properties scheduled for tax sale. We pay the back taxes from sale proceeds at closing, so you never write a check. You walk away free of the tax burden with cash in hand.

What Sets Our Long Beach Process Apart

California property tax bills compound their consequences. The original tax becomes delinquent, then penalty interest, then collection fees, then attorney costs once the county initiates legal proceedings. A Long Beach homeowner who fell $4,000 behind two years ago typically owes $7,000-$9,000 by the time the tax sale is calendared. Cash sale proceeds pay it all at closing.

Bankruptcy can pause a California tax sale via the automatic stay, but only briefly. Property taxes are typically priority unsecured debt in Chapter 13 and survive Chapter 7 discharge entirely. Long Beach homeowners hoping bankruptcy will solve tax arrears usually discover it postpones rather than eliminates the problem.

BuyHousesInCash handles tax-delinquent Long Beach properties without requiring the seller to bring money to closing. The math just needs sale proceeds to exceed the tax debt, mortgage payoff, and our offer. When equity is too thin to cover all three, we work with lenders on short sale and with the county on tax-arrear negotiations.

Tax liens in California are mostly senior to mortgage liens, which means a tax sale can extinguish the mortgage entirely. Long Beach homeowners who fall behind on property taxes while current on their mortgage occasionally discover their lender paid the taxes and added them to the loan balance — at a punitive rate. Either path destroys equity; selling clears both at closing.

Free Long Beach Cash Offer

No obligation. We close at a Los Angeles County title company.

Call (555) 555-CASH

FAQs - Tax Delinquent / Tax Lien in Long Beach, CA

How does California tax sale work, and how long do I have?

California can typically begin tax sale proceedings after 60 months of delinquency. The county or municipality issues a tax certificate to investors, and after a redemption period, the property can be sold at auction. BuyHousesInCash can typically close before tax sale in Long Beach as long as you contact us before the auction date is finalized.

Will I have to pay the back taxes out of pocket to sell my Long Beach house?

No. BuyHousesInCash pays all delinquent property taxes, penalties, and interest from the sale proceeds at closing. The title company in California disburses funds to the county tax collector, clears the lien, and the remaining cash goes to you. You write zero checks. This is one of the biggest reasons homeowners with Long Beach tax delinquency choose us.

What if my Long Beach property already has a tax lien certificate sold?

Even after a tax certificate is sold to an investor, California provides a redemption period during which you can pay off the certificate plus interest and reclaim your property. BuyHousesInCash can buy your home and redeem the certificate at closing during this window. Don't wait until the redemption period expires — call us as soon as possible.

Can I sell my Long Beach home if I'm behind on income taxes too (IRS lien)?

Yes. Federal IRS tax liens against you personally do attach to Long Beach real estate. The IRS has procedures (Form 14135) to discharge a property from the lien at closing in exchange for paying the lien amount or a portion. BuyHousesInCash works with title companies experienced in IRS lien discharges. California state tax liens follow similar processes.

How much does my Long Beach, California property need to be worth to make this work?

The math has to work — sale proceeds need to cover the back taxes plus our offer price. If you have $50,000 in back taxes on a $200,000 Long Beach home, we have plenty of room. If back taxes are $180,000 on a $200,000 home, the offer becomes minimal. We'll run the numbers transparently and tell you what you'd net before any commitment.

What if I'm behind on taxes AND mortgage in Long Beach?

Common scenario. Both get paid off at closing from sale proceeds. The title company disburses to the lender (mortgage payoff) and the California tax collector (delinquent taxes), then any remaining equity goes to you. We handle multi-creditor closings in Long Beach regularly — it adds about 3-5 days to closing time but isn't a deal-breaker.

Can the county or city stop my Long Beach tax sale once I have a buyer?

Most California counties will postpone or cancel a scheduled tax sale once they receive proof of a pending sale to a buyer who will pay off the delinquent taxes. BuyHousesInCash' title company submits the contract and proof of funds directly to the Long Beach tax office to halt the sale. We've stopped tax auctions with as little as 5 days notice.

Will selling for back taxes hurt my credit?

Selling to BuyHousesInCash doesn't directly impact credit. The negative items — late mortgage payments, judgments, the tax lien itself — already affect your credit. Selling clears those liens, which over time helps your credit recover. Compare to a tax sale: losing the home plus continued lien on credit report. The voluntary sale is almost always the better credit outcome.

What to Expect in Long Beach

Mortgage servicers in California sometimes pay delinquent property taxes themselves and force-place the amount into the loan balance, raising the monthly payment overnight to recover the advance plus interest. Long Beach borrowers occasionally find their $1,400/month mortgage jumps to $1,950 after a tax-escrow shortage. The lender treats it as a default risk; the next step is acceleration.

Income tax debt occasionally gets confused with property tax debt in Long Beach, but they operate independently. California state income tax liens, federal IRS liens, and Los Angeles County property tax liens are three separate exposures that can all attach to the same property. A title search before closing reveals every one of them; BuyHousesInCash clears them all at the settlement table.

IRS tax liens — separate from property tax — also affect Long Beach home sales. Federal liens attach to all real estate owned by the debtor. When the property sells, the IRS gets paid from proceeds before the homeowner sees anything, but Form 14135 (Certificate of Discharge) can clear the lien from the specific property at closing. BuyHousesInCash title teams handle this routinely in Los Angeles County.

Most Los Angeles County tax sales use a certificate-auction process where investors bid on the right to collect the delinquency plus interest. The homeowner retains a redemption window (often 1-3 years in California) during which they can pay off the certificate plus accumulated interest and reclaim clean title. BuyHousesInCash regularly closes during this redemption window, paying the certificate as part of the closing.