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Guide 02
7 min read · updated October 22, 2026
Buying at a sheriff sale means buying from a court order, not from a seller. There is no one to negotiate with, no inspection period and no financing contingency, and the deed comes without a warranty. The discount and the risk have the same source: the buyer does the homework a seller would otherwise do. Our records show 1,410 sheriff sales scheduled in the next 30 days. This guide goes through the work in the order you do it; how sheriff sales work covers the court process that comes before.
Each sheriff publishes a sale list weeks ahead: the address, the court case number, the plaintiff and defendant, the sale date and, depending on the county, the judgment, the upset price or opening bid, and the appraisal. The sheriff sale calendar collects every county's sale days in one place.
Then read the court file. The complaint tells you which lien is being foreclosed and who was named as a defendant; the judgment tells you the amount due. Settle two things from it:
Look at the postponement history as well. A sale that has moved several times may move again, and why sheriff sales get postponed explains how to read it.
A sheriff sale passes only what the foreclosed lien could reach; every lien ahead of it, and any lien whose holder was not in the case, can stay with the property.
Order a title search, or at least search the county recorder's records by owner and parcel. What commonly survives a foreclosure sale:
There is no inspection. The property belongs to the defendant until the deed, and someone may live there. Drive by, look at the roof, the windows and the yard, see whether it is occupied, and check the building department's permit and code records. Price in what you cannot see.
Occupants set the timetable. A bona fide tenant is protected by federal law: the buyer must give "a notice to vacate to any bona fide tenant at least 90 days before the effective date of such notice" [6], and in most cases must honor the rest of a bona fide lease. Some states protect tenants further; New Jersey's protections are in its state guide.
The deposit is due at the sale or right after it, in the form the sheriff's conditions of sale demand: usually cash, a certified check or a cashier's check, and electronic payment at online sales. The amount depends on the state, and sometimes on the county.
| State | Deposit | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 20 percent of the bid, in cash or by certified or cashier's check, when the sale ends [7] | On the county's terms; the deed is delivered within two weeks of the sale if the balance has been paid [8] |
| Ohio (residential) | $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000, by appraised value [9] | Within 30 days of the court's confirmation [10] |
| Pennsylvania | Set by each county's local practice [11] | Set by each county |
| Florida | 5 percent of the bid, posted with the clerk [12] | Within the period the clerk sets |
The money is at risk if you cannot close. In New Jersey, a bidder who cannot pay the deposit is in default and the sheriff voids the sale and resells at once [13]. In Ohio, a buyer who does not pay the balance within 30 days of confirmation can lose the sale and the deposit [14]. Have the whole price arranged before you bid.
The plaintiff bids the debt it is owed, so it can go up to the judgment plus interest and costs without spending cash (see the plaintiff's credit bid). Where the listing prints that figure, it appears as the opening bid, the upset price or the judgment; where it does not, some plaintiffs' attorneys give it out shortly before the sale.
Work out your maximum before the sale: the property's value after repairs, less the repairs, the surviving liens, the taxes and fees the conditions of sale put on the buyer, the holding costs, the cost and time of getting possession, and your margin. If the plaintiff's figure is above that number, let the property go back to the plaintiff. The foreclosing lenders pages show who is bringing sales in each county.
A sheriff's deed transfers whatever interest the sale reached, and nothing more: it carries no warranty that the title is good, that the liens are gone or that the property is in any condition.
A warranty deed from an ordinary seller promises good title and stands behind the promise. A sheriff's deed does not, because the sheriff is an officer carrying out a court order, not an owner. It conveys the defendant's interest as the judgment reached it: free of the foreclosed lien and of the junior liens whose holders were parties, and subject to everything in the title section above. New Jersey's statutory form is typical. The sheriff's only covenant is that the sheriff has not done anything "whereby the said premises, or any part thereof, with the appurtenances, are or may be charged or encumbered" [15].
When the deed arrives depends on the state: within two weeks of the sale in New Jersey if the balance is paid [8], after the court confirms the sale in Ohio, and 20 to 40 days after the schedule of distribution in Pennsylvania [16]. Record it promptly. A title insurer may not insure a sheriff's deed until the periods for challenging or redeeming the sale have passed, and some will want a quiet title action first; budget for it.
Each state handles some of this differently: see the guides to New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and the sales themselves on the New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania pages. Terms used here are defined in the glossary.
Usually not. The property belongs to the defendant until the deed is delivered, and the sheriff does not arrange viewings. Bidders look from the street, read the court file and the public records, and price the risk of what they cannot see.
You need funds in the form the sheriff's conditions of sale require: usually cash, a certified check or a cashier's check for the deposit, and the balance within a set time after the sale. There is no financing contingency, and a buyer who cannot close can lose the deposit.
No. A foreclosure sale clears the lien being foreclosed and the junior liens whose holders were made parties. Senior mortgages, unpaid property taxes in many states, some municipal liens, and a federal tax lien held by a United States that was not joined can survive and stay with the property.
The deed the sheriff gives the winning bidder after the sale. It conveys whatever interest the sale reached, without any warranty that the title is good or that no other liens exist.
General information about sheriff sale law across the states, not legal advice. Each state's law and each sheriff's conditions of sale differ, and statutes change; confirm with the office holding the sale before bidding.
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