Pennsylvania Foreclosure Laws

Foreclosure Laws in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania foreclosure laws require that all foreclosure proceedings are carried out through judicial means. All in all, the entire Pennsylvania foreclosure process takes roughly 10 months to complete. This does not include the pre-foreclosure period.

Before a foreclosure can even begin a homeowner must be at least 60 days late on their payments. Generally, lenders are required to send the homeowner two notices of default informing them of the amount they owe and of the fact that if they do not pay, a foreclosure will be imminent. Sometimes these notices will also carry information on a homeowner's options for avoiding a foreclosure. After this point, the homeowner has anywhere from 2 to 4 months to find a solution and pay off their debt.

If this period passes without payment of the default amount, then the lender can file a suit against the homeowner for the amount owed. Once this occurs, the homeowner must be notified, either in person or by mail or other contact. Once the homeowner has been notified, they have one month to address the situation with the lender or settle the debt, After that point, the court will issue an order for the homeowner's property to be sold as a means of collecting the debt owed the lender.

The borrower still has the power to avoid a foreclosure by paying off the full amount owed on the loan up until one hour before the sale takes place.

In order to correctly advertise the Notice of Sale, the county Sheriff will post a Notice of Sale on the property in question at least 30 days before the sale is scheduled to take place. The Sheriff must also issue the homeowner a copy of the Notice of Sale. The Notice of Sale must also be published at least once a week for 3 consecutive weeks leading up to the sale in a general public newspaper, as well as a local legal newspaper.

The foreclosure sale is conducted as a public auction where anyone, including the lender, may bid on the property. The auction takes place anywhere from 1-2 months after the court order has been issued, and is presided over by the county Sheriff. The property is awarded to the highest bidder, and the Sheriff is then responsible for transferring ownership to the high bidder through requisite paperwork. The sale may be postponed for up to 100 days, but any further postponements must be approved by the court.

The original homeowner receives no right to redemption period after the auction takes place.