My First Sheriff Sale

[Miguel Torres]

I will be attending my 1st sheriff sale this month. After researching as much information about these sheriff sales I am more confused then before.

1st thing I had an issue with was liens. I've read that "Senior Liens" stay with the property after the sheriff sale, how would I be able to verify this information before bidding on a property? Would I have to hire someone to research every single property that I could possibly be interested in? My county website has this response under the FAQ section 

"How can I check for liens against a property?;

This is a complicated process that includes searches in several other County offices, including, potentially, the Recorder of Deeds, Prothonotary, Tax Claim Bureau, Register of Wills, and others. It is generally best to hire someone with a degree of expertise in this field."

Next issue is this the requirement on a winning bid is 10% due at the time of winning the auction. Sheriff office only accepts cash or cashiers check. How am I supposed to get a cashiers check for an unknown amount? Is there a such thing as a variable cashiers check?

What should I do the days leading up to the sale? Who do I need to contact before the sale? Am I better off having a title company on hand to research all potential properties of interest? ( There are many properties at this sale due to this being the first month this February sheriff sales are back up in my county).

Thanks for any help.