Bidding on PA properties at Sheriffs Sales - Questions (Monroe: for sale, real estate)

[minuteman1970]

I'm in the preliminary stages of an Eastern PA property search (for 2nd home and/or acreage), and came across various references to county Sheriff's sales. I'm wondering if anyone here has good/bad experiences they can share, to help me determine whether it might be worthwhile to look into.

Apparently, the Sheriff's departments make no guarantee that the properties being sold are lien-free. How does one know what they are getting themselves into when bidding on a property? I believe you can hire a company to do a title search, but my understanding is that it can run several hundred dollars and does not seem justified for a property you MIGHT win a bid on.

Thanks in advance.

[JohnZ963]

You won't know the extent of what you're getting into unless you pay for a title search or have the knowledge to do one yourself. The country sheriff sale listings will usually list the lien that is foreclosing (usually the first mortgage) but there can be many other liens involved on a particular property. I would not recommend that someone with your experience bid on a property at a sheriff's sale unless you are represented by a real estate attorney and a title search has been performed on the property.

Only properties in PA that are sold at a judicial sale will truly be free of all liens. However, these properties are often flawed in one way or another. They are often worthless pieces of vacant land (undersized per zoning codes, side of a cliff, etc.) for which the previous owners just stopped paying the taxes. Judicial sale properties may also have other title problems.

[fisheye]

Here is a link to Monroe County's Upset Tax Sale: planning records: Upset Sale Processing
Here is a link to Monroe County's Judicial Sale: planning records: Judicial Tax Sale|

If you go to that Upset Tax Sale link you will also see a place to click and get the terms.

If you go to the Judicial sale link you will see the list of properties that will be up for sale this spring (the date is not set as of today). It is also strongly recommended that you seek legal counsel before biding at any of these sales. Do your homework.

I keep checking the Judicial list because I have a two neighbors that were listed in the past. They did pay their back taxes before the sale date in the past. I just don't want to miss a chance to pick up adjacent acreage at a very reasonable price.

[Wells5]

Sheriff's sales of decent real estate parcels usually attract a lot of bidders one of which is the bank or mortgage company that foreclosed on the parcel. They have an advantage over other bidders because they don't have to put up cash at the auction. The bank will then hand off the property to a real estate agency for sale. Very few properties come up that are owned outright by the deed holder.

Your better option is to consider a tax sale parcel. You can pay the back taxes and fees and receive a tax sale deed for just 10% cash down at the auction. If the owner occupied the property within 90 days of the tax sale, they can redeem the deed for up to 1 year by paying the tax deed holder back with 10% interest.

Careful research is needed because a tax sale deed does not wipe out the mortgage or other liens. A judicial sale wipes out all liens but any property that goes into a judicial sale has major problems or is worthless.

[Riverside4ever]

Judicial Tax Sale| these are the best sales .. they are FREE and clear ... My friend bought 4 lots in PCP for $24 each... FOR REAL//// The dude who owned them lost them over a few bucks (this was 18 yrs ago ) These sales have all the investors lined up for them... they bid hard and strong .. you gotta bring you A game to these auctions ..

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Sheriff's sales of decent real estate parcels usually attract a lot of bidders one of which is the bank or mortgage company that foreclosed on the parcel. They have an advantage over other bidders because they don't have to put up cash at the auction. The bank will then hand off the property to a real estate agency for sale. Very few properties come up that are owned outright by the deed holder.

Your better option is to consider a tax sale parcel. You can pay the back taxes and fees and receive a tax sale deed for just 10% cash down at the auction. If the owner occupied the property within 90 days of the tax sale, they can redeem the deed for up to 1 year by paying the tax deed holder back with 10% interest.

Careful research is needed because a tax sale deed does not wipe out the mortgage or other liens. A judicial sale wipes out all liens but any property that goes into a judicial sale has major problems or is worthless.

I had two properties (land parcels) across the street from me that were up for sheriff's sale two years ago. Last summer a builder built two new homes on the properties. He had new owners from NYC that immediately moved in.

My point is that there are some people that know how to play the system. Unfortunately; most of us are out of the loop or not knowledgeable about these parcels. My feeling is that a good place to start on the Judicial Sales list would be to have copies of several years listings. That way you could see how many properties are not moving or how many new properties are on the list.