Sheriff sale
A public auction of real estate run by the county sheriff to satisfy a court judgment, most often a foreclosure or a tax judgment.
Definition
A sheriff sale is a public auction of real estate run by the county sheriff to satisfy a court judgment, most often a mortgage foreclosure judgment or a judgment for delinquent taxes. It is the usual last step of judicial foreclosure in the states that use it.
The sheriff publishes a sale list ahead of time with the property address, case number, plaintiff and often an opening bid. Many counties now run sales online. Terms are strict: buyers typically pay a deposit at the sale and the balance within days or weeks, buy the property as is, and may take it subject to liens the sale does not clear. In Philadelphia, for example, sheriff sales cover both mortgage foreclosures and tax sales, and an occupied property can require a separate ejectment action. The owner can often stop the sale until the last minute by paying or reaching an agreement, and listed sales are frequently postponed. Rules vary by state; confirm with a local real estate attorney.
Source: phillysheriff.com
Read the guide
Foreclosure · 8 min read
Sheriff Sales: How Foreclosure Auctions Work and How to Prepare
How a sheriff sale works: notices, deposits, title and occupancy risks, redemption, postponements, and how to reach the owner before the sale.
Foreclosure · 12 min read
Pre-Foreclosure: What It Is and How to Reach Owners Before the Auction
What pre-foreclosure means, how the timeline runs in judicial and non-judicial states, where the records are, and how to reach owners the right way.
Taxes and liens · 9 min read
Tax Sale Lists: How to Find Properties Before the County Auction
Where counties publish the tax sale list, what each column means, why most rows drop off before auction day, and how to reach owners first.
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