Short version: Cash offer within 24 hours of the address. Close in 7 to 14 days, you pick the date. Pennsylvania runs judicial foreclosures through the county Court of Common Pleas — slower than most states, but the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Sale is a hard deadline with no redemption after it. No repairs, no commission, no fees.
Pennsylvania’s foreclosure runs through the courts
In Tennessee and Texas, a lender can complete a foreclosure in 41 to 90 days without ever filing a lawsuit. Pennsylvania doesn’t work that way.
Every residential mortgage foreclosure in Pennsylvania goes through the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the property sits. Before the lender can even file, state law requires two notices:
Act 91 notice — the lender must inform you about Pennsylvania’s Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP), a state loan fund that can help qualified borrowers. That notice triggers a 30-day window before anything is filed.
Act 6 notice — for qualifying residential mortgages under the Loan Interest and Protection Law (41 P.S. § 403), a separate 30-day written notice is required.
After those notices, the complaint is filed. You have 20 days to respond. If judgment enters, the sheriff schedules a sale. In Allegheny County, Sheriff’s Sales run through the Sheriff’s Office at 436 Grant Street in Pittsburgh, advertised in the Pittsburgh Legal Journal.
From first missed payment to Sheriff’s Sale in Allegheny County typically runs 9 to 24 months. Courts are backlogged. You likely have more runway than the envelope implies — but the Sheriff’s Sale date is the hard stop. Pennsylvania has no right of redemption after the sale completes. Once it’s done, it’s done.
A cash sale closes in 7 to 14 days. That means you can sell, pay off the mortgage from proceeds, and avoid both the foreclosure record and any deficiency action — all before a judgment is ever entered.
Why Pennsylvania houses sometimes can’t find financed buyers
Pennsylvania’s housing stock in the older metro areas carries barriers that show up consistently on FHA and VA appraisals.
Pre-war electrical and plumbing — Pittsburgh’s older neighborhoods (Lawrenceville, the Hill District, Homewood, Hazelwood) have substantial quantities of pre-1940 housing with knob-and-tube wiring and galvanized plumbing. Both are flagged by government-backed appraisers. No flag, no loan, no financed buyer.
Mine subsidence risk — Pennsylvania’s DEP maps underground mine workings across large portions of Allegheny, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland counties. Properties over abandoned workings may require DEP-registered insurance or carry an insurability cloud. That stops most financed deals cold.
Low price points — in Braddock, McKeesport, Homestead, Duquesne, and Clairton, median prices run $30,000 to $90,000. Agent commissions and repair credits at those price points can consume the equity entirely. A cash buyer closes the deal the MLS math can’t justify.
River flood zones — portions of the Allegheny and Monongahela valleys sit in FEMA AE or AO flood zones. Mandatory NFIP coverage under 42 U.S.C. § 4012a adds $4,000 to $12,000 a year in carrying costs that kill financed sales.
Three steps
You give us the address and phone number. We assess the property — most of the time without needing inside access — and call you with a number within 24 hours.
If the number works, you pick a closing date. Pennsylvania doesn’t require an agent for a direct sale. A cash transaction skips the appraisal. The title company handles the paperwork.
We pay standard closing costs. No commission, no repair conditions, no financing contingency to blow up the day before closing.
When you should not sell to us
If your house is in Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, Fox Chapel, Sewickley, or a renovated Lawrenceville row house, and you have 60 or more days, list with an agent. You’ll net more. The commission is worth paying when the market is competitive and the house doesn’t have financing barriers.
We buy the properties an agent can’t close at a price that makes sense — not the ones a well-priced MLS listing would move in two weeks.
Pennsylvania markets we cover
We buy throughout Pennsylvania. Most active markets:
Give us the address. Call or text (615) 780-7349.