RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Nearly 800 tax-defaulted properties throughout Riverside County will be on the auction block, open for electronic bidding, beginning next Thursday.

The Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector has partnered with hosting site Bid4Assets.com to conduct the online auction on houses and vacant parcels seized as a result of unpaid property taxes. The auction is scheduled from May 30 to June 4 and will involve 778 properties.

Bids start as low as $100 and are estimated to reach as high as $3.2 million for county-seized real estate, according to Bid4Assets CEO Jesse Loomis. Prospective buyers must register online and make a $2,500 deposit in order to participate. Under state law, before a property under lien can be sold off, it must be held in abeyance for at least five years.

The minimum bid amounts are set by the county represent tax and sales costs. According to the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office, minimum prices will be reduced on some properties that do not generate interest in the first round of bidding. This marks the seventh year that the county has resorted to internet- based auctioning for its entire portfolio of assets with tax liens.

Prospective bidders can view assets and register at www.Bid4Assets.com/Riverside or request offline bid forms by contacting Bid4Assets at 877-427-7387.

Anyone who needs additional assistance can contact the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office at 951-955-3999.