Vacant Property Purchase at Upset Tax Sale without receiving deed

[David Spengler]

Hello guys, my name is David from Centre County, PA. We recently purchase a few property through the upset tax sale in Dauphin and York County at end of September. My question is, since we had not receive the taxclaim deed, would we be able to ask a locksmith to pop the lock and enter since those are vacant properties? or we would have to wait till the taxclaim deed to be recorded to enter the properties?

Thank you guys in advance to helping me.

Regards,

David 

[Chris K.]

@David Spengler

As a general rule, PA law says you are the owner of the property upon winning the bid at a tax sale --- whether it's upset or judicial. The tax claim deed makes you the record owner. That has many consequences but I don't know if it has any meaningful consequences when it comes to changing locks. The bigger liability concern there is whether the properties are truly vacant. If they are not, you have to do take other legal actions before being able to change the locks. Note that you'll have to take such legal actions regardless of whether the tax deeds are recorded. 

Disclaimer: While I’m an attorney licensed to practice in PA, I’m not your attorney. What I wrote above does not create an attorney/client relationship between us. I wrote the above for informational purposes. Do not rely on it as legal advice. Always consult with your attorney before you rely on the above information.