• California homeowners must pay annual property taxes on their home.san francisco home image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
  
  California law requires residents to pay property taxes. Property is defined as all things a person may own such as real, personal or a mixture of the two. All property is taxable in the state of California. A home is considered real property and owners are required to maintain the property taxes as stated in their original loan documents. Those that become more than three years behind on their property taxes may be subjected to tax foreclosure and the property sold.
  
  

Property Taxes

• A home is considered real property in California. The county property appraiser will assess the value of each home in California and assign an amount of property tax that must be paid. This may change each year due to changes in the housing market. The finance company or bank that holds the mortgage note requires the homeowner to keep the property taxes current. Many homeowners have an escrow account from which the finance company pays the property taxes from each year. This ensures the taxes remain paid in full and current. Homeowners that do not choose this option must pay their own property taxes each year. Those that become delinquent in their property taxes for three years are subject to tax foreclosure.
  
  

Foreclosure List

• In California, the county tax collector prepares a foreclosure list of all properties that are subject to tax foreclosure. This list contains information such as the name of the person that owns the property. In the event the property is owned by an attorney or a public service officer that has applied for exemption, California law states that the name on the deed shall not be listed. Other information that may be included is a description of the property, the years for which the taxes are delinquent and the principal amount of taxes accrued as well as the amount of interest that has accrued.
  
  

Notice Of Foreclosure

• California law requires the tax collector to provide the property owner with a notice of foreclosure. This notice must be in writing and must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county the property is located in. Another notice must be sent to the property owner by certified mail and regular first-class mail. Notice of tax foreclosure may also be given by personal service. This shall take the place of service by publication and mail.
  
  

Foreclosure Proceedings

• Foreclosure proceedings may be initiated for failure to pay taxes if the property is three years delinquent. The county tax collector must wait at least three months from the date of delinquency of the last year to proceed with the foreclosure process. The name that appears on the county tax roll is treated as the property owner. An application for judgment should be filed with the clerk of the court on the first day of foreclosure list publication. Any person that wishes to address the court regarding the foreclosure of his home should file an answer in writing to the court within the specified time period. The court will examine the request for foreclosure, as well as consider any defense filed by the property owner. The court may issue a judgment of foreclosure, requiring that several liens of property taxes should be foreclosed.