A Pennsylvania
Sheriff’s Sale can be delayed, also known as stayed, either at the request of
the lender or upon a stay granted by a judge.
The Sheriff’s Sale can be delayed up to one hour before the bidding at a
foreclosure sale.
Common Technique
The common technique to delay a Sheriff’s Sale is to
convince the foreclosing mortgage lender to request it. In many cases, though not all, a lender will
delay a Sheriff’s Sale to allow a short sale to reach settlement.
Sometimes a lender will only initiate their request to stay
the Sheriff’s Sale a mere two to three days before the sale date. The bank does this just in case the short
sale transaction is not working out to their satisfaction, so they can quickly
go ahead with the foreclosure sale if necessary. The risk to sellers and agents is that if the
left hand does not know what the right hand is doing, the Sheriff’s auctioneer
might not receive the message to delay the sale. Unfortunately, we have seen this happen on
several occasions.
Once the Sheriff’s Sale occurs, it is final. There is no right of redemption in
Pennsylvania like there is in some other states.
Another Method
Another method of delaying a Sheriff’s Sale is for the
borrower to declare bankruptcy. A
bankruptcy will postpone the foreclosure sale until the trustee or presiding
judge releases the real estate from the bankruptcy proceeding. We have seen borrowers declare bankruptcy a
mere hour before a Sheriff’s Sale. In
those cases, they have been able to delay the foreclosure action for months
while the bankruptcy runs its course.
One Other Method
One other technique to delay a Sheriff’s Sale is for the
borrower or their representative to convince a judge to grant a stay. Sometimes a judge will delay a Sheriff’s Sale
to allow for a possible conciliation. We
have seen various judges grant stays from 30 days to six months. The borrower may file a petition seeking
relief from the judgment or a delay of the Sheriff’s Sale. Rule 2965 of the Pennsylvania Code states that
the petition must be filed within 30 days after the date the Default Judgment
is served to the borrower or they may lose their rights to file. We have seen some cases where a petition
filed more than 30 days later was considered valid enough to convince a judge
to postpone the Sheriff’s Sale.
In rare cases, the Sheriff’s department will postpone a
foreclosure sale due to a high volume of cases.
Foreclosure can be avoided. Short Selling your home has far less consequences than a foreclosure sale. We do Short Sales... We provide you with an attorney at no cost to you. Our processors and negotiators deal with your lenders in reaching a satisfactory deal to close the sale. Don't wait!! If you or someone you know is having problems paying their mortgage, call me today to find out how our team of professionals can help you sell your home and move on with your life.
From the Blog "Stop My Foreclosure Instantly" Reprinted with permission.
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