Schuylkill County

A judicial sale, moved to November 19

The Tax Claim Bureau's 2026 tax sales page lists two judicial sales: June 18 and one now shown as "October 29, 2026 – November 19, 2026, at 10 am", the October date replaced by November 19. The Conditions of Sale settle it: an online auction on November 19, bidding opening at 10:00 a.m. and closing at 3:30 p.m., on Bid4Assets. The same county page still names a fire hall in Landingville as the venue for all sales; go by the Conditions.

A judicial sale is the stage after the upset sale. Under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law, the buyer takes title free and clear of all taxes, municipal claims, mortgages, liens, charges and estates of any kind, except ground rents separately taxed or preserved by statute. The 2026 county and municipal real estate taxes are also exonerated. Every bid must at least equal the fixed bid price announced for the property; any higher bid goes up in steps of at least $100.

Registering: two steps, both by November 6

Step one is Bid4Assets. Registration opened October 12. You pay a $50 non-refundable registration fee, review the deposit instructions, complete your pre-vesting information and upload ID and any business documents. The $500 deposit does not have to have cleared for you to move on, but everything else must be complete.

Step two is the Tax Claim Bureau, in person, by appointment only. Bid4Assets reviews your upload and, if it is complete, sends a link to book a meeting with the county. Appointments are first come, first served, there are no walk-ins, and the deadline for both steps is Friday, November 6, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Miss an appointment slot and you cannot take part. No exceptions.

The $500 deposit plus a $35 processing fee must be received by Bid4Assets by Friday, November 13; a deposit sent by check must have cleared by then. Non-winners are refunded by Bid4Assets, but the county warns that refunds run from the settlement date, not the sale date, and can take 30 to 45 days.

Who may bid

You must be at least 18. You may not be delinquent on real estate taxes to this or any other Tax Claim Bureau in Pennsylvania, or to any taxing district in the state, and you may not have municipal utility bills more than a year overdue. The sale and its documents are in English only.

Deeds are prepared in the names you give when registering with Bid4Assets and confirm at your county appointment. The Bureau will not process assignments, and changing the names later means going through the Recorder of Deeds or the Department of Motor Vehicles, with their fees. If you buy, your name, mailing address, phone number and email become public.

Settlement by November 23, and the costs on top

Winning bidders pay through Bid4Assets by close of business on Monday, November 23, 2026. Besides the bid, the purchaser pays: a 5% Bid4Assets buyer's premium; a recording fee of $87.75 for a deed or $72.75 for a bill of sale on a mobile or manufactured home; the realty transfer tax; a $20 UPI fee; a $250 county demolition fee; a $25 deed preparation fee; and a $35 settlement fee per parcel. Bid4Assets emails the total after the auction.

If you win several parcels, paying for all of them on time is a condition of every sale. Fail on one and all your purchases are voided, the deposit is forfeited and you lose eligibility for future Schuylkill sales, possibly with other Tax Claim Bureaus too. The property then goes to the next-highest bidder, or, if there is none, to the repository sale. Overpayments are refunded by Bid4Assets by check within four weeks.

After the sale

The Bureau issues a deed or bill of sale with no warranty, general or special, about roughly 45 days after the sale, longer if anyone challenges the sale in court. Property is sold as described in the county's assessment, recorder and tax claim dockets, without a survey and subject to any existing occupancy. Once the deed is issued, the Bureau takes no responsibility for the quality of title; it suggests an attorney.

Two traps are named. A lien on a mobile or manufactured home's certificate of title is not affected by a real estate tax sale. And current tax bills will keep arriving in the old owner's name: whether or not you receive them, the balance is yours, so contact the school district and tax collector.

If the owner pays the tax balance before the property is struck down, the sale is void, even if the payment is only processed after the sale. If a sale is set aside later, the Bureau refunds the bid and the recording, transfer, UPI, demolition and deed fees and asks Bid4Assets to refund the premium; registration and transaction fees are not refunded.

Three ways people lose money here

1. 1. Registering online only

   The in-person appointment with the Tax Claim Bureau is required, and booked through Bid4Assets by November 6.

2. 2. Mailing the deposit late

   A check must reach and clear Bid4Assets by November 13.

3. 3. Assuming the mobile home title is clean

   Liens on a manufactured home's certificate of title survive the real estate sale.