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Facing a sheriff sale in Philadelphia: your timeline and options

Updated October 2026

If you've fallen behind on your mortgage in Philadelphia or the surrounding counties, you have more time and more options than most people realize. This guide walks through how foreclosure works in Pennsylvania, the free help available, and what selling looks like if that's the right choice.

The Pennsylvania foreclosure timeline

Every case is different, but most Philadelphia mortgage foreclosures move through these stages:

1. Missed payments

   Late notices and calls from your servicer

   Your servicer must reach out about options. This is the cheapest time to act.

2. Before filing

   Act 91 notice

   Most Pennsylvania homeowners must receive an Act 91 notice before the lender can file. It explains your right to a face-to-face meeting with a housing counselor and to apply to the state's emergency mortgage assistance program (HEMAP).

3. Court filing

   Complaint in mortgage foreclosure

   The lender files in the Court of Common Pleas. You'll receive the complaint and a notice to defend. Don't ignore it.

4. Philadelphia only

   Conciliation conference

   Owner-occupants enter the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program. You meet with your lender's representative, with a housing counselor's help, at City Hall to try to work out an agreement.

5. No agreement

   Judgment and sheriff sale scheduled

   The court enters judgment and the property is listed for sheriff sale. In Philadelphia, sales are held online through Bid4Assets.

6. After the sale

   Sheriff's deed and eviction

   The buyer receives a deed and can seek possession. Once the sale is final, your options shrink sharply.

Your options, from keeping the home to selling it

• Loan modification: Permanently changes your loan terms to make payments affordable. A housing counselor can help you apply.
• Repayment plan or forbearance: Spreads the missed amount over future payments, or pauses them for a set time.
• Reinstatement: Paying the full past-due amount plus fees stops the foreclosure.
• Bankruptcy: A Chapter 13 filing stops a sale and creates a court plan to catch up. Talk to a bankruptcy attorney.
• Sell the house: Pays off the mortgage and protects your equity. You can list with an agent or sell as-is for cash.
• Short sale or deed-in-lieu: If you owe more than the home is worth, the lender may accept less than the full balance or take the deed back.

Selling before the sheriff sale

If staying isn't realistic, selling before the sale is usually far better than letting the house go to auction. You keep any equity above what you owe, and a completed sale is easier on your credit than a foreclosure.

Here's how a sale works with us:

• We get a payoff figure from your lender and check for tax, water and other liens.
• We give you a written offer and show you what you'd walk away with after payoffs.
• If a sale date is close, we and the title company ask the lender's attorney to postpone it for a scheduled settlement. Postponement isn't guaranteed, so the earlier you call, the better.
• Settlement happens at a local title company, which pays the lender directly.

How to spot a foreclosure rescue scam

• Anyone who asks for money upfront to "stop" your foreclosure.
• Pressure to sign over your deed so someone else will "save" the house for you.
• Advice to stop talking to your lender or housing counselor.
• Promises that sound guaranteed. Nobody can guarantee a sale will be stopped.

Ask any buyer whether they will close on the house themselves or plan to assign your contract to someone else. In Pennsylvania, anyone who assigns a home purchase contract for a fee must hold a real estate license and tell you in writing. We buy every house ourselves and never sell your contract to another investor.

Frequently asked questions