Philadelphia Sheriff Sale

[Scott Gullaksen]

Hi Bigger Pockets Group,

I recently purchased a sheriff sale, checked for liens through a title search, and paid off the full balance on the property.  I stopped by the property and it is clearly vacant, not one thing of personal property in the home from looking in the windows.  The neighbors also confirmed that nobody has lived here for at least 6 months and there is a sticker on the window from the bank saying that it has been serviced by a property preservation company.  The sheriffs office said I cannot do anything until I receive my sheriff's deed in 6-8 weeks which makes no sense to me since I have paid over $100k of my own money and now have to still wait to get inside and do the work.   I would like to at least change the locks and install a security system to ensure nobody will gain access until I get the deed.  Any one have experience with this?

[Ethan Giller]

They tell you that because without a HUD-1, it's difficult to really prove that you are the legal owner (that you have closed with the sheriff) until the deed is recorded. When they say "you can't do anything" they really mean that if there's an occupant, you may have trouble filing an eviction/ejection action until it's recorded. If you're trying to sell or refinance, you will have trouble until the deed is recorded.

In my experience, and from a practical perspective, it's ok to enter the property at this point.  99% of the time you will not have a problem.  If you want to worry about the remaining 1%, then you can wait the 6-8 weeks.