Stop a Sheriff Sale in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

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

Westmoreland County sheriff sales are held on a published cycle at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg, with the sale list maintained by the Sheriff's Office and posted before each sale date.

Westmoreland County handles residential mortgage foreclosure through standard Civil Division practice rather than a widely publicized diversion program. Servicer loss mitigation and Chapter 13 are the practical tools; confirm any current court program through the Prothonotary.

Greensburg, Jeannette, New Kensington, and the surrounding towns carry modest balances and a high rate of second mortgages taken out when the region's manufacturing wages were higher. Where the first mortgage now exceeds the home's value, that wholly unsecured second can be stripped in Chapter 13 and discharged with the rest of the unsecured debt — relief that does not exist in Chapter 7. Western District, 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 Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland 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.