Sales of real and personal property

Real property auctions

Sheriff’s Sales are ‘judicial foreclosures’ (or executions) on real property to satisfy a money judgment. The order to sell comes from the Superior Court Clerk. We are selling only the judgment debtor’s interest in the real estate and the property is subject to all existing liens and encumbrances. We have limited information about the sale property since we do not need to know any information other than the address and legal description to conduct our sales. It is not possible for potential purchasers to view the interior of the structure prior to the sale.

The property sold may have a Redemption period from eight months to one year. Redemption means that the owner may pay back the amount bid at the sale plus interest, taxes, etc. in order to ‘redeem’ the property and become the owner again. If you have legal questions about this procedure, you should contact your attorney for direction, or read the Revised Code of the state of Washington pertaining to Redemption.

Sheriff sale notices and notices regarding postponements of sales are posted in the Civil Unit lobby and the King County Courthouse first floor entrance. Sheriff's notices of sale of real property are published in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce newspaper once per week for four consecutive weeks prior to the sale.

ALERT: Update to bidding requirements effective April 15, 2023

A $5,000.00 deposit will be required to participate in any real property auction. The balance of your winning bid must be tendered to the King County Sheriff’s Office, Civil Process Unit within two hours or the property will be offered to the next highest bidder. If you’ve been disqualified from bidding on Sheriff’s auctions in the past, you may once again participate effective April 15, 2023.

Personal property auctions

The sales are generally held at 10:00 a.m. at the location where the property is being stored. Please see the sale notice for information on particular sales. Sheriff sale notices and notices regarding postponements of sales are posted in the Civil Unit lobby, the King County Courthouse first floor entrance, and Precinct 3 lobby.

The property may be viewed ½-1 hour prior to the sale. If you are the winning bidder at the sale, you must provide the Sheriff with cash or cashier’s check made payable to the court clerk’s office issuing the Writ of Execution, or the sale will go to the next highest bidder.

If you are the successful bidder, we will provide you with a Bill of Sale. There is no right of redemption in personal property sales; however, the items are sold as-is and subject to any liens in place.