Stop a Sheriff Sale in Northampton County, Pennsylvania

A sheriff sale in Northampton County is the last step of a judicial foreclosure, not the first. The lender sued you in the Northampton 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 Northampton 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.

The Northampton County Sheriff conducts real estate sales on a published schedule at the Northampton County Courthouse in Easton. Sale lists and continued sales are published by the Sheriff's Office ahead of each sale date.

Northampton County's Court of Common Pleas has used residential mortgage foreclosure conciliation for owner-occupied cases alongside local counseling agencies. Eligibility depends on where the case sits, so ask before judgment rather than after.

Easton, Bethlehem, and the surrounding boroughs carry a mix of long-held homes with small remaining balances and newer purchases financed at Valley prices with New Jersey and New York commuting income. The second group is the one that gets into trouble when the commute or the job changes. Both are handled through the Eastern District.

The automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 takes effect the moment the petition is docketed in the Eastern District. That stops a scheduled Northampton 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 Northampton 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.