It is up to you to know exactly what you are bidding upon. We cannot stress this too strongly. Every year people who have done little or no research, or who do not know how to read a legal description, buy properties that, to them, are totally useless. Knowledgeable parties who have done the research will avoid these properties. We do not overturn a sale and refund the purchase price because a bidder did not know what they were bidding upon; nor because they did not understand the legal description.
Where is the best place to begin researching?
In addition to the minimum bid sheet, the Treasurer's office will provide as much information as it has available. The Treasurer's office is only a starting point, sometimes the information available is minimal. It is up to the buyer to pursue other sources. Title reports, maps, appraisal sheets, and tax information are some items that will help you in your research.
Assessments
Many parcels have local improvements or special assessments for which payment will be due. You will need to check on these and find out what districts or associations service the area of the parcel you are researching. Some assessments are collected by the County Treasurer. Some are not. To avoid expensive surprises, you need to be aware of these before the sale.
Community Association Dues
We sell all properties subject to restrictive covenants, if any, allowing for imposition of community association fees.
Easements
Some properties may be private roads covered by easements for ingress and egress. Easements are not extinguished by the foreclosure sale but remain with the land. You may not block the easement to try to extort money out of the users.
Similarly, when you see that a property lies near or under a transmission line easement, there will likely be restrictions against building anything on the land. Transmission line easements do appear on the Assessor's maps, but private easements do not.
Some properties may be subject to use restrictions and covenants set up in the original plat. Some of these may be labeled Open Space, Open Area, Greenbelt, or similar.
Improvements
If there are improvements on the parcel, you should find out if the improvements go with the land and how they are currently being used.
Local Ordinances
Some properties may be subject to easements or use restrictions, as well as zoning and other land use controls. We sell all properties subject to applicable city and county ordinances. The existence of these is the buyer's responsibility to detect.
Other resources
Questions about ability to build, zoning, use restrictions, controls, as well as others, should be looked into prior to any purchase. City and county departments of Engineering, Buildings and Codes, and Planning are good places to get information.
Physical Inspection of Property
We strongly recommend that you visit all of the property sites you are researching. Look at exactly what is being offered for sale. Is there any access to the parcel? Can you accurately identify property boundaries? Is the parcel being used in some way by neighbors? These are just a few of the questions you may want to ask. Just because a property looks desirable on the map, that does not mean it is in actuality. The map does not show the topography such as ravines, hills, slopes, etc.; nor does the map show what is on the property such as dense growth, swamp, boulders, etc.
Title Insurance
Some title companies will not provide title insurance for up to ten years from the date of sale. Policies vary with each title company. If you are planning to build, title insurance may be important to you.
Posted: 01/22/2015 02:00 PM
Last Updated: 12/06/2018 04:21 PM
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The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
PLEASE NOTE: FTP browsing is no longer supported on the latest browsers, please refer below to acccess our FTP content.
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By clicking continue, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this disclaimer.
The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
By clicking continue, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this disclaimer.
The information contained on this site is provided as a courtesy of the Chelan County. Where it exists, the "Index.txt" will contain a brief explanation of files contained in this folder
Chelan County makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on its web site. However, due to the possibility of transmission errors, HTML browser capabilities, changes made since the last update to the site, etc., neither Chelan County, nor any agency, officer or employee of Chelan County warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.
By clicking continue, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to this disclaimer.