How does an Allegheny County sheriff sale work for the owner?

The Sheriff says a sheriff sale is an execution on a court judgment, taken on real estate to satisfy a debt. The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office runs the sale. It has been held online through Microsoft Teams since August 3, 2020. A 2020 order of the Court of Common Pleas moved the monthly sales online. The public can watch the sale on the Sheriff's virtual sale page. This is general information, not legal advice.

The Sheriff's Sale is held on the first Monday of every month. If that Monday is a holiday, the sale is held on Tuesday. The list for the next sale is a PDF on the Sheriff's Sales page. The office says the list is generally updated every two weeks. The final list is set on the morning of the sale and made public before it starts.

In a mortgage foreclosure case, the Sheriff may be required to hold a Sheriff Sale on the property. The Sheriff must also offer property for sale when Allegheny County, local municipality or school district taxes are not paid. The Sheriff's filing packet also covers sales on a money judgment. This is general information, not legal advice.

You register for a bidder number on the Sheriff's virtual sale page. You must fill in every field on the form. You also send a copy of a valid state ID or driver's license. The Sheriff needs it to give you a bidder number. The Sheriff posts the registration deadline for the next sale on that page.

A winning bidder owes at least 10 percent of the bid on the day after the sale. The balance is due before 10:00 AM on the Monday after the sale. The bidder also pays $200 to have the deed recorded. A bidder who does not pay the balance loses the deposit. The property is then put up for sale again. This is general information, not legal advice.

The Sheriff says the attorney who represents the lender, taxing body or judgment holder decides the amount that it is seeking. The Sheriff also says the cost of bringing a property to sale is about $2,000. That money is used to advertise the property for sale. This is general information, not legal advice.

No. The Sheriff has no keys and gives no walk-through of the homes it sells. Bidders must do their own title search. If someone still lives in the home, it is the buyer's job to have them removed through legal process. After thirty days, the Sheriff prepares a Sheriff's Deed to the property. This is general information, not legal advice.

Pennsylvania court rule 3129.2 calls for three kinds of notice before a sheriff sale of real estate:

1. The sheriff posts handbills on the property and in the sheriff's office at least 30 days before the sale.
2. The party that filed the case serves a written notice at least 30 days before the sale. It goes to the owner, the defendants and the lienholders listed in that party's Rule 3129.1 affidavit, a sworn list of the liens on the property.
3. The sheriff runs a newspaper notice once a week for three weeks. The first one runs at least 21 days before the sale.

Where is an Allegheny County sheriff sale advertised?

The Sheriff advertises each sale in two papers:

• The New Pittsburgh Courier, on the last three Wednesdays before the sale.
• The Pittsburgh Legal Journal, on the last three Fridays before the sale.

The list for the next sale is a PDF on the Allegheny County Sheriff's Sales page. Properties are not listed by lot and block. To ask about one, call the Sheriff's Office with the address, the sale number or the owner's name. The public can watch the sale on the Sheriff's virtual Sheriff's Sale page.

What are the key dates around an Allegheny County sheriff sale?

This list puts the main time limits from the state rules and the Sheriff's pages in one place. Each step is covered in more detail on this page.

• Act 6 notice from the lender, on a residential mortgage as Act 6 defines it: at least 30 days before it starts a foreclosure.
• Handbills on the property and at the sheriff's office: at least 30 days before the sale.
• Written notice to the owner and lienholders: at least 30 days before the sale.
• First newspaper notice: at least 21 days before the sale.
• Sheriff's Sale day: the first Monday of the month, or Tuesday after a holiday.
• Deposit of at least 10 percent: the day after the sale.
• Balance: the Monday after the sale, before 10:00 AM.
• Proposed schedule of distribution: within 30 days after the sale.
• Written exceptions to the schedule: within 10 days after it is filed.
• Sheriff's Deed prepared: after thirty days.
• Redemption after a tax sale: within three months of the deed acknowledgment.

Bidder rules are on the Sheriff's Sale bidders page. More answers are in the Sheriff's real estate FAQ.

What notice does a lender send before it files?

A Pennsylvania law called Act 6 covers residential mortgages, as the law defines them. That means a loan up to a size limit the state adjusts each year for inflation, on a property with two or fewer residential units, owed by a borrower who is not a corporation. Before the lender starts a foreclosure on such a mortgage, it must give the borrower notice at least thirty days in advance. You can read the text of Act 6 for the exact terms.

Who gets an Act 91 notice?

An Act 91 notice is required only after a borrower is at least 60 days behind on the mortgage. The notice gives the borrower 30 days, plus three days for mailing, to have a face-to-face meeting with a consumer credit counseling agency.

What happens after the counseling meeting?

After that meeting, the lender cannot start a court case against the home for a period of up to 30 calendar days. Act 91 sets that limit. It is part of the state's Housing Finance Agency Law.

What does a pending HEMAP application mean?

HEMAP is a state program under that same law. While the borrower's HEMAP application is pending, the lender may not start a foreclosure case on the mortgage. The state housing finance agency handles the application.

How does the Act 6 cure work?

Under Act 6, a borrower on a residential mortgage can cure the default. To cure, the borrower must do all of these:

• Pay, in cash, a cashier's check or a certified check, the sums that would have been due if there had been no default.
• Do anything else the loan would have required if there had been no default.
• Pay the reasonable fees the law allows and the reasonable foreclosure costs the lender has actually spent and set out in writing.
• Pay any reasonable late penalty the mortgage papers provide for.

The cure must come at least one hour before bidding begins at the sheriff sale. The right can be used no more than three times in a calendar year.

The Allegheny notice to owners also says the sale will be cancelled if the back payments, late charges, costs and reasonable attorney fees are paid to the lender. This is general information, not legal advice.

Pennsylvania's redemption rule covers homes sold for unpaid taxes or municipal claims. You will find it in section 32 of the state's tax lien law, the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law. In Allegheny County the owner has three months to redeem. The three months run from the date the sheriff's deed is acknowledged. To redeem, the owner pays back the amount bid at the sale, along with other sums the law sets.

Which homes can be redeemed after a tax sale?

The law says there is no redemption of vacant property by anyone after the sheriff's deed is acknowledged. Whether a home counts as vacant is a legal question. Ask a lawyer about your own home. This is general information, not legal advice.

Can an owner ask the court to set a sale aside?

Yes. Pennsylvania rule 3132 lets any party in interest petition the court to set a sale aside. The petition must be filed before the sheriff's deed is delivered. When proper cause is shown, the court may set the sale aside and order a resale. The Allegheny notice to owners says an owner can petition the court to set aside the sale if the bid price was grossly inadequate. This is general information, not legal advice.

Does the owner have to leave right after the sale?

No. The Sheriff's notice to owners says you have the right to remain in the property until the full amount due is paid to the Sheriff. After a sale, a buyer who finds someone living in the home must use legal process to have them removed. This is general information, not legal advice.

Pennsylvania rule 3136 says the sheriff prepares a proposed schedule of distribution no later than 30 days after the sale. Written exceptions must be filed with the sheriff within 10 days after the schedule is filed. The Allegheny notice to owners says you may be owed a share of the money paid for your house. To find out the price bid, call the Sheriff at 412-350-4704. The Sheriff posts sale results on its Sheriff's Sale results page.

Where does unclaimed sale money go?

The Sheriff lists unclaimed sale money on the Sheriff's Unclaimed Monies page. The Sheriff warns that money may be sent to the State Treasury if the owner does not contact the Sheriff's Office promptly. If your name is on that list, contact the office soon. This is general information, not legal advice.

The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office is at 436 Grant Street, Room 111, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Kevin M. Kraus is the Sheriff. The main phone is 412-350-4700. Legal paperwork about sheriff sales is faxed to 412-350-6275. The Sheriff explains its part in foreclosures and tax sales on its Sheriff's real estate page.

Which Sheriff phone line handles what?

The Sheriff's Sales page lists a desk for each step:

• General real estate questions: 412-350-4739.
• Distribution questions: 412-350-4728.
• Deed questions: 412-350-5712.
• Filing questions: 412-350-5055 or 412-350-5056.

What scams has the Sheriff warned about?

The Sheriff's scam warnings describe callers who pretend to be deputies and demand payment. The Sheriff's Office will never ask for payment in gift cards. Caller ID may say Sheriff's Office or show a 412-350 number. Scammers can fake both.

The Sheriff's foreclosure assistance page describes a Mortgage Assistance Program. The Sheriff's page says the program provides a 90-day stay of Sheriff Sale proceedings for county residents who agree to attend counseling and a conciliation process with the lender. The same page says eligibility is not automatic: a housing counseling agency decides who is eligible for the program. The program hotline listed there is 1-866-298-8020.

Is there a Sheriff hotline for homes on the list?

Yes. The Sheriff runs a Mortgage Foreclosure Hotline at 412-350-4704. It is meant for owners whose property is listed for sale. The Sheriff says hot line operators are prohibited from offering any legal advice. For legal help, see the two places named further down this section.

Which counseling agencies does the Sheriff list?

The Sheriff says you could be eligible for counseling at little or no cost. It lists these agencies:

• Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh, 412-391-2535.
• Garfield Jubilee Association, 412-665-5200.
• Mon Valley Initiative, 412-464-2000.
• NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania, 412-281-9773.
• Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, 855-827-3466.
• Reverse Mortgage Network, 412-825-5159.
• Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, 412-227-4802.

Where can an owner find legal help?

The Sheriff's notice to owners names two places:

• The Allegheny County Bar Association lawyer referral service, Koppers Building, Suite 400, 436 7th Avenue. The notice prints its phone as 412-261-0518. Another notice in the same packet prints 412-261-5555 for the lawyer referral service.
• Neighborhood Legal Service Association, 928 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Phone 412-255-6700.

This is general information, not legal advice.

If your home is on the sheriff sale list and you would like to sell it before the sale date, you can contact us to request a cash offer. We are As-Is Home Buyer. We buy houses for cash. Put the address on our offer form. We will reply with a cash price for the house in the shape it is in now. It is your choice whether to take it.

Do you need to make repairs first?

No. Our offer is for the house as it is today. You make no repairs before you sell to us. Read how we buy houses in Pittsburgh for cash.

This page is general information about Allegheny County sheriff sales. It is not legal advice. The Sheriff's Office, the courts and the County set the rules and the sale dates.