Pennsylvania Foreclosure Laws

Under Pennsylvania foreclosure laws, foreclosing a real estate property is administered through the court system. A borrower whose property is undergoing a foreclosure process can stop the sale at any time up to the date of the auction. In order to do this, the defaulted borrower should make a full payment of the amount owed to the lender. Typical foreclosure process is about 10 months.

Judicial Foreclosure Information

According to foreclosure laws in Pennsylvania, a lender can go to court and file for a lawsuit or a lis pendens against a borrower who had defaulted on payments for at least 60 days. To a begin foreclosure, the lender has to notify the borrower of the imminent foreclosure on the property in question. The letter of intent to foreclose a property should contain the option for the borrower to satisfy debt with a grace period of 2 to 4 months. Failure to do so would push for a foreclosure sale.

Foreclosure laws in Pennsylvania requires that the lender go to court before an auction is scheduled to take place. A lis pendens (a public document stating an impending foreclosure on a distressed property) should be filed in court where the property is located. At this point, the defendant (borrower) is given 30 days to respond to the lawsuit by either making a full payment of the outstanding balance or contesting it.

A foreclosure sale is final; hence, Pennsylvania foreclosure laws do not have an after-sale statutory right of redemption. In other states which support redemption, a person whose property has been foreclosed can still repossess that property by providing a full payment of the total unpaid loan plus any additional costs.

When the proceedings of the sale is less than the amount of loan, a lender can claim for deficiency judgment and it should be brought up within 6 months. When deficiency claim is granted, the borrower has to pay to the lender for the difference between the amount of the property sold for at the auction and the amount of the original loan.

In a Pennsylvania foreclosure, the Sheriff supervises the sale which is in the form of a public auction. During the auction, the property in question is auctioned off to the highest bidder. Property ownership is transferred to the winning bidder once payment is received.

Notice Of Sale Pennsylvania

A Pennsylvania foreclosure is legitimate when the Notice of Sale is mailed to the homeowner at least 30 days before the auction and published in two local newspapers. At least 3 weeks prior to the public auction, the Notice should be published in a newspaper. Postponing a sale is possible but should not go beyond 100 days. Since Pennsylvania is a judicial foreclosure state, court approval is required before a sale will be postponed.