Selling a House in Foreclosure or Before Sheriff Sale in Philadelphia
If you are behind on your mortgage, the most useful thing to know is that Pennsylvania gives you more time and more formal off-ramps than most states — and that almost all of them have deadlines attached.
Selling is one option. It is not always the best one. This page lays out the process and the free programs first, because you should know what you’re giving up before you decide to sell. None of this is legal advice; a foreclosure attorney or a free housing counselor should review your specific case.
Foreclosure in Pennsylvania goes through court
There is no quick out-of-court auction here. A Pennsylvania sheriff cannot sell your home on a writ of execution until the plaintiff has filed the required affidavit with the sheriff identifying the owners, defendants, and every recorded lienholder — and until the notice required by Rule 3129.2 has been served (Pa.R.C.P. 3129.1).
The practical effect is that there are steps, filings and dates in between falling behind and losing the house.
The Act 91 notice
Before a lender can move forward, Pennsylvania law generally requires an Act 91 notice to the homeowner. Per the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), a lender issues it when a homeowner is at least 60 days delinquent and the property and loan meet certain criteria.
The notice is not junk mail. It starts a clock:
- You must meet with an approved consumer credit counseling agency within 33 days of the date on the Act 91 notice.
- The counseling agency then has 30 days from that face-to-face meeting to submit a completed application to PHFA for the Homeowner’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP).
- PHFA makes a decision within 60 days.
- Per PHFA: while applications are processed, “foreclosure actions cease, as long as the procedural time limits are met.”
An Act 91 notice is not required in every case. PHFA lists exceptions including FHA Title II mortgages, properties used primarily for business purposes, delinquencies beyond 24/36 months, and cases where the cost to reinstate exceeds $60,000.
The face-to-face meeting requires real paperwork — employment history, tax returns, proof of the hardship, and a letter explaining the delinquency. Counselors help you assemble the strongest application, but they do not decide approvals.
The Philadelphia Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program
Philadelphia has run its own diversion program through the Court of Common Pleas since 2008, and it is genuinely unusual — most cities have nothing like it.
It applies to residential owner-occupied properties. When a foreclosure case involves one, a conciliation conference is scheduled and an order is issued preventing the plaintiff from entering judgment until the conciliation conferences have concluded.
Conferences are held every Thursday in Courtroom 676, at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. You sit down with the lender’s attorney to discuss workout options. Free legal assistance is available at these conferences from Community Legal Services, Philadelphia Legal Assistance, SeniorLAW Center, and the Volunteers for the Indigent Program. If the parties need help reaching agreement, they can request a judge pro tem.
Before your conference, call the Save Your Home Philly Hotline at 215-334-HOME (4663), Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The Department of Housing and Community Development will provide a housing counselor free of charge to discuss home retention options.
The stated purpose of the program is to prevent residential owner-occupied homes from proceeding to sheriff’s sale.
Find out what the house is worth before the sale date
Time is the one thing that matters in a foreclosure, and every week you wait costs you options. Send us the address and we will tell you what we can pay and how fast we can close — often before the next listed sale date.
No fee, no obligation, and nothing that interferes with a workout or a Diversion Program conference you may already have.
How sheriff sale notice and postponements work
If a case does reach sale, Pennsylvania rules control the timing tightly, and those dates give you room to act.
Under Pa.R.C.P. 3129.2, written notice of sale must be served at least 30 days before the sale. Handbills must be posted by the sheriff on the property at least 30 days before the sale. Notice is published once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation and the legal publication, with first publication not less than 21 days before the sale.
Under Pa.R.C.P. 3129.3, a sale can be stayed, continued, postponed or adjourned to a date certain within 130 days of the scheduled sale, and only two such postponements may occur within that 130-day period without new notice. Beyond that — or beyond 130 days — new notice under 3129.2 is required. The plaintiff must file notice with the prothonotary at least 15 days before the rescheduled date.
This is why “the sale got postponed” is common and why it is not the same as “the sale went away.”
Whether selling makes sense
Selling before a sale date is worth considering when the arrears are larger than any workout can realistically cure, when the hardship that caused the delinquency has not ended, or when you have equity that a sheriff sale would put at risk. A sale you control lets you pay off the mortgage and keep whatever is left, rather than letting the process decide.
It makes less sense if you qualify for HEMAP or a modification and want to stay. In that case the hotline and the Diversion Program are the better first calls, and we will tell you so.
Get a no-obligation cash offer
Call (267) 507-5453. Tell us where you are in the process and what dates you’re working with. We will give you a free, no-obligation cash offer and a straight answer about whether selling actually helps you.
Philly Property Buyers · 1800 E Schiller St, Philadelphia, PA 19134
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell my house after foreclosure has been filed?
You can generally sell at any point while you still own the property, with payoffs handled at closing. Whether a specific sale can close before a scheduled sheriff sale depends on the timing and the payoff — talk to an attorney and let us look at the dates.
How long do I have after an Act 91 notice?
You must meet with an approved counseling agency within 33 days of the date on the notice. The agency then has 30 days from that meeting to submit a HEMAP application to PHFA, and PHFA decides within 60 days.
Does the Diversion Program stop a sheriff sale?
For residential owner-occupied properties, an order is issued preventing the plaintiff from entering judgment until the conciliation conferences have concluded, and the program’s stated purpose is to keep those homes from reaching sheriff’s sale. It is not an automatic guarantee — attend your conference and get a counselor.
How many times can a sheriff sale be postponed?
Under Pa.R.C.P. 3129.3, a sale may be postponed to a date certain within 130 days, and only two such postponements are allowed within that 130-day window without new notice.
Can I get my house back after a sheriff sale?
We are not able to state a general rule here, and it is not something to take from a website. Ask a foreclosure attorney or call the Save Your Home Philly Hotline at 215-334-HOME (4663) right away — timing matters enormously.
Will a foreclosure filing show up if I sell?
The filing is a public court record. Selling does not erase it, but resolving the debt through a sale is generally better for you than letting a sale proceed. Your attorney can explain the credit implications.
Find out what the house is worth before the sale date
Time is the one thing that matters in a foreclosure, and every week you wait costs you options. Send us the address and we will tell you what we can pay and how fast we can close — often before the next listed sale date.
No fee, no obligation, and nothing that interferes with a workout or a Diversion Program conference you may already have.
