Mortgage Foreclosure Sheriff's Sale Philadelphia: Poundage & RTT

[Kevin Boswell]

Hello All,

I have recently been introduced to BiggerPockets and have learned a ton since I've been reading.  I have truly benefited from all of the helpful advice.  This is my first post.

I am considering bidding at a Mortgage Foreclosure Sheriff's Sale in Philadelphia.  I understand the risks and pitfalls of doing so and have done my due diligence, including title search and reading all of the links from @Steve Babiak !

My question is very specific and concerns the structure of the sheriff's fees and realty transfer tax in Philadelphia County.  (I am aware this answer differs based on county, so I am really only interested in how things work in Philadelphia.)

As a third party buyer, if I were the winning bidder at the auction in Philadelphia, would I pay the sheriff's poundage and realty transfer tax on top of the winning bid, or do the poundage and RTT come out of the amount bid?

In other words, if I won a property for $250,000, assuming no other liens/costs (for the purpose of this example), would my final cost be:

(a)            $200,000

 Total of $210,300

or

(b) Total of $200,000, since poundage and transfer tax are taken off the top of the winning bid, reducing the distribution to the lender.

Thank you all in advance for your help!