Plain-language, Pennsylvania-specific definitions of the legal and practical concepts that come up in nearly every conversation with a distressed seller. Each entry links to the ABE situation page where the term applies in practice.
External links go directly to the authoritative source (PHFA, PA Dept of Revenue, Wikipedia, etc.). This isn't legal advice — always consult a PA-licensed attorney for your specific situation.
Also known as: InterNACHI
The largest non-profit professional inspector organization in North America. InterNACHI sets training, ethics, and continuing-education standards for home inspectors across the United States and Canada.
Authoritative sources
Also known as: CPI · Certified Professional Inspector
The professional credential awarded by InterNACHI to inspectors who complete the required training, pass the InterNACHI Inspector Examination, perform required mock inspections, and maintain annual continuing-education hours. Holders may include their unique cert ID — Mike Sup of ABE Homes is Cert #21032009 (since 2010).
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Also known as: Act 91 of 1983 · Pennsylvania Homeowner Emergency Mortgage Assistance Notice
A pre-foreclosure notice required by Pennsylvania law (35 P.S. § 1680.402c) that mortgage lenders must send Pennsylvania homeowners at least 30 days before filing a foreclosure complaint. The notice informs the homeowner of the right to apply for HEMAP (the state's Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program) and pauses the lender's ability to file until the cure window expires.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: HEMAP · PA HEMAP
A Pennsylvania state loan program administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) that provides emergency mortgage assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure due to circumstances beyond their control (job loss, medical emergency, etc.). HEMAP funds bring the mortgage current and may continue to pay monthly installments for up to 24 months. Applications are triggered by the Act 91 Notice.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Foreclosure by court action
Pennsylvania is one of approximately 22 U.S. states that require all residential foreclosures to proceed through the court system rather than via non-judicial trustee sale. The process generally runs 4–7 months from the lender's complaint filing through sheriff sale, with required Act 91 notice and HEMAP-eligibility windows.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Sheriff's sale · Sheriff's auction
The public auction step at the end of a Pennsylvania judicial foreclosure, conducted by the county sheriff's office at the county courthouse. Lehigh County holds sheriff sales on the second Friday of each month; Northampton County holds them monthly at the Easton courthouse. The property is sold to the highest bidder (which is often the foreclosing lender itself).
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: 23 Pa.C.S. § 3502
Pennsylvania's statutory framework (23 Pa.C.S. § 3502) for dividing marital property during divorce. Unlike community-property states that default to 50/50 division, Pennsylvania courts divide marital assets based on what is equitable considering 11 enumerated factors — including the duration of the marriage, contributions to the marriage, and the economic circumstances of each spouse at divorce.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Pennsylvania Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code · Title 20 Pa.C.S.
The court-supervised process in Pennsylvania for administering a decedent's estate, governed by Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code). Each Pennsylvania county has a Register of Wills office that opens probate; full probate typically runs 6–12 months. Real property in the estate may be sold during probate by the executor or administrator without waiting for full estate closure.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: PA inheritance tax
A state tax assessed on transfers of property at death by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Rates are tiered by relationship to the decedent: 0% for surviving spouses and qualifying charities, 4.5% for lineal descendants (children, grandchildren) and lineal heirs, 12% for siblings, and 15% for all other beneficiaries. The tax must be filed and paid before the estate fully closes.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Cash buyer · We-buy-houses company
A real estate buyer that purchases residential property without mortgage financing, typically paying the full purchase price from existing capital and closing in days rather than weeks. Cash buyers usually purchase as-is (no repair contingencies) and may close before a traditional listing's contingencies could be cleared. Reputable cash buyers do not change the offer between contract and closing; inspector-owned cash buyers (such as ABE Homes) walk the property themselves and avoid the third-party-inspector revision pattern.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: PA RTT · Realty transfer tax · 61 Pa. Code § 91
Pennsylvania assesses a 1% state realty transfer tax on the value of every real estate transfer, collected by the Recorder of Deeds at the time the deed is recorded. Most municipalities and school districts impose an additional 1% local tax — Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton all run at the full 2% combined rate (1% state + 0.5% city + 0.5% school district), splitting the cost by custom between buyer and seller (often 50/50). The seller's share is settled at closing out of the proceeds.
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Also known as: Section 121 exclusion · § 121 home sale exclusion
Under IRS Section 121, a homeowner who has owned and used a property as their primary residence for at least 2 of the previous 5 years can exclude up to $250,000 of capital gain ($500,000 if married filing jointly) from federal income tax on sale. Pennsylvania also exempts the same gain from PA personal income tax on real estate sold as a principal residence (61 Pa. Code § 103.13). Distressed-sale sellers frequently qualify — the exclusion is one of the most material financial facts to confirm before closing.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Quit claim deed · Quit-claim deed
A deed by which the grantor transfers whatever interest they have in a property, without warranting that the interest is valid or that the title is clear. Common in inheritance, divorce, and intra-family transfers where the parties already know the title state. Distinct from a general warranty deed (which guarantees clear title) or special warranty deed (which guarantees only against the grantor's own acts). In Pennsylvania, quitclaim deeds are recorded at the county Recorder of Deeds along with the realty transfer tax payment.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Notice of pendency · Pending lawsuit notice
A public notice filed in the county property records that a lawsuit affecting the title to a specific piece of real estate is pending. In Pennsylvania, a lis pendens is automatically created when a foreclosure complaint is filed and indexed by the prothonotary against the property. The notice 'clouds' the title — third-party buyers and lenders are deemed to have constructive notice, which usually prevents a clean sale until the underlying action resolves or the lis pendens is discharged. Cash buyers who specialize in distressed property can sometimes close around an active lis pendens by paying off the lender directly at settlement.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: PA municipal claim · Municipal claim lien
Under Pennsylvania's Municipal Claims and Liens Act (53 P.S. § 7101 et seq.), cities can attach a lien to a property for unpaid water/sewer charges, code-enforcement penalties, demolition costs, or other municipal services. The lien travels with the title — a buyer taking the property generally takes it subject to all recorded municipal liens unless they're paid off at settlement. Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton all actively use municipal liens against vacant or code-cited properties. When ABE Homes purchases a property with open municipal liens, the liens are paid off out of the closing proceeds so the seller walks away clean.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: 11 U.S.C. § 362 · Bankruptcy automatic stay
When a debtor files Chapter 13 bankruptcy, federal law (11 U.S.C. § 362) creates an immediate "automatic stay" that halts virtually all collection activity — including sheriff sales, tax claim sales, foreclosure proceedings, and utility shutoffs. The stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed (often same-day). For Pennsylvania homeowners facing imminent sheriff sale, Chapter 13 is the only GUARANTEED way to stop the sale without lump-sum reinstatement. Chapter 13 lets the debtor pay missed mortgage payments over 3–5 years while making current payments on time. Impacts credit for 7 years.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: FHA reverse mortgage maturity event · HECM Notice of Default
When the last surviving borrower on a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM, the FHA-insured reverse mortgage) dies or permanently moves out, the loan becomes "due and payable" under HUD rules. The servicer mails a Due and Payable Notice to the heirs. Heirs have 30 days to respond with intent (pay off, sell, or deed-in-lieu), and 6 months to actually close — extendable in 90-day increments up to 12 months total. HECMs are non-recourse: if the home sells for less than the loan balance, heirs owe nothing additional.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: 68 Pa.C.S. § 101 · Partition by sale
Under Pennsylvania's Partition Act (68 Pa.C.S. § 101 et seq.), when co-owners of real property cannot agree on selling, any co-owner may file a partition action in the Court of Common Pleas. The court has two remedies: partition in kind (physical division — rarely feasible for a single house) or partition by sale (forced sale, proceeds divided by ownership percentage). Most real-estate partition actions in PA end in forced sale. Timeline 9–18 months; total fees $20,000–$50,000 across both sides. Common in sibling-co-heir disputes and post-divorce co-ownership.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Upset Sale · Judicial Sale · RETSL 1947
Under Pennsylvania's Real Estate Tax Sale Law of 1947 (72 P.S. § 5860.101 et seq.), the county Tax Claim Bureau can sell a property when real estate taxes are delinquent for 2+ years. Two-stage process: (1) Upset Sale, held on the second Monday of September each year, sells the property subject to all existing liens (mortgage, judgments, etc.); (2) if it doesn't sell at Upset Sale, the property goes to Judicial Sale 9–12 months later, which conveys clean title (wipes out all liens). Distinct from a mortgage foreclosure sheriff sale: different statute, different court, different cure paths. HEMAP does NOT apply to tax sales.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Cure default · Bring loan current
Reinstatement is the right of a defaulted mortgage borrower to bring the loan current by paying all missed payments, late fees, attorney fees, and other costs in a single lump sum — restoring the loan to its pre-default state. In Pennsylvania, a borrower has the legal right to reinstate up until the moment the county sheriff accepts the winning bid at the sheriff sale auction (Pa. R.C.P. 3132). Reinstatement is the only option that fully preserves the homeowner's credit AND keeps the home. Common funding sources: family loans, 401(k) hardship withdrawal, sale of other assets.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: DIL · Voluntary surrender · Deed in lieu
A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is a voluntary transfer of the property deed from the homeowner to the lender, in exchange for the lender releasing the mortgage and canceling any pending foreclosure. Less damaging to credit than a completed foreclosure (typically 4 years on credit report vs 7). Some lenders offer "cash for keys" — a small payment to help with moving costs. Lenders only accept deed-in-lieu when (a) the property is unlikely to sell at traditional listing, (b) there are no second mortgages or junior liens, and (c) the homeowner has tried to sell or refinance first. Approval timeline is 30–90 days, which can be too slow when sheriff sale is imminent.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: HEMAP-triggered postponement · PHFA HEMAP application stay
An automatic pause on the Pennsylvania foreclosure process that takes effect when a homeowner files a good-faith application for the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) through a Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA)-approved counseling agency. The Act 91 Notice (required by 35 P.S. § 1680.402c) informs the homeowner of HEMAP eligibility and triggers the application window. While PHFA reviews the application (typically 30-45 days), the lender generally cannot proceed with the sheriff sale. The PHFA HEMAP hotline is 1-800-342-2397.
Where this applies on ABE Homes
Also known as: Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 3129 · Pa. R.C.P. 3129.3
Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 3129 governs the conduct of sheriff sales on writs of execution, including notice, advertising, and postponement requirements. Subsection 3129.3 specifically authorizes the sheriff to postpone the sale up to two times without republication, for up to 100 days total, when there is reasonable cause — including a pending HEMAP application, an active loss-mitigation packet, a pending sale agreement, or a written request from the lender. Additional postponements or postponements on disputed grounds require a Court of Common Pleas order. Subsection 3132 separately preserves the homeowner's right to reinstate the mortgage up until the sheriff accepts the winning bid at auction.
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Where this applies on ABE Homes
Written by
Mike SupInterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector · #21032009 · speaks English & Spanish
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