Stop a Sheriff Sale in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

A sheriff sale in Allegheny County is the last step of a judicial foreclosure, not the first. The lender sued you in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, obtained a judgment, and asked the sheriff to sell the property. Everything before that step had an option attached to it, and so does this one: a Chapter 13 filed before the sale takes place stops it by operation of law.

This page covers how foreclosure actually runs in Allegheny County — where the sale happens, what the court offers, and what filing looks like from here. It is general information about Pennsylvania and federal law, not advice about your loan.

Allegheny County sheriff sales are conducted on a published monthly cycle, held online through the Sheriff's auction platform. Sale lists and continuances are posted by the Sheriff's Real Estate Division in advance of each sale date — confirm your property's current status there rather than relying on the last notice you received in the mail.

The Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas has long operated conciliation practice for residential mortgage foreclosures, and the local bar's Save Your Home program connects owner-occupants with counseling and volunteer counsel. Availability and intake for these programs change; the Court's Civil Division and a HUD-approved counselor in the county are the two places to confirm what you can still get into.

Pittsburgh-area cases frequently pair a mortgage arrears problem with municipal and school district tax claims filed by a collection firm, plus older second mortgages from the pre-2008 refinance wave. Where the first mortgage balance exceeds the home's value, that second can often be stripped in Chapter 13 and discharged with the unsecured debt. Petitions go to the Western District in Pittsburgh.

The automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 takes effect the moment the petition is docketed in the Western District. That stops a scheduled Allegheny County sheriff sale — I have filed cases the morning of a sale.

From there, 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(5) lets you cure the arrears over the three-to-five-year plan while resuming the regular monthly payment. The lender cannot demand a lump sum and cannot refuse the cure. If your first mortgage exceeds the home's value, a wholly unsecured second mortgage or HELOC can also be stripped and discharged with the unsecured debt — relief that does not exist in Chapter 7.

To file quickly we need your mortgage statement, the foreclosure complaint or sale notice, the last six months of income, and a credit-counseling certificate. When a sale is imminent, a case can be filed within hours.

• Confirm your sale status with the Allegheny County Sheriff's office rather than the last letter you received.
• Open a written loss-mitigation file with your servicer through their portal and keep every submission dated.
• If an Act 91 notice arrived within the last 30 days, meet with a HUD-approved counselor and ask about HEMAP through PHFA — that window does not reopen.
• Get a straight read on whether the ongoing payment is affordable. If it is not, surrendering through Chapter 7 and discharging the deficiency is often the cleaner exit, and saying so early is worth more than a plan that fails in month eight.