Sheriff Sale Judgment - Wiped Out, or New Owner on Hook?

Question

I'm looking at a Sheriff Sale property in PA. It's a first mortgage foreclosure, but I found some judgments and liens while researching it.

There are two township liens for trash and sewer for a couple thousand dollars. There are also two PA Department of Revenue liens for a few thousand dollars apiece. I assume that these liens will become the responsibility of a prospective high bidder due to their government/tax nature? No biggie either way.

There is one judgment that has me perplexed, though. It's listed as a "foreign judgment" for $85k from a building cleaning & maintenance company. The judgment was originally filed in a neighboring County this past September. Would this judgment be wiped from the record once sold at the Sheriff Sale, or would it be the responsibility of the high bidder to pay off?

Mark Beekman · Answer

Thanks, Wayne. Steve Babiak was kind enough to send me this link for PA: http://law.justia.com/codes/pennsylvania/2010/title-42/chapter-81/8141/

It spells out the order in which liens have priority over each other. I assume I'd be on the hook for the municipal and PA tax liens because I've read that they almost always never get wiped out, however there's no mention of this at that link. Am I correct in that this is normally the case, though?

I just can't find anything specific enough to fully ease my fears on the $85k judgment. Then again, I don't think my fears will ever be fully alleviated!

Wayne Brooks · Answer

Cjeck specifically for your state, but generally any junior private liens get wiped out.