The Right of Redemption under 53 PS Section 7293 grants prior owners the opportunity to repurchase properties sold at sheriff sale under certain conditions.
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A petition for redemption under 53 P.S. Section 7293 is a legal basis to recover a property sold at tax lien sheriff sale. Every year in Philadelphia, the Office of the Sheriff of Philadelphia with the city auctions properties with unpaid taxes. While the properties are sold at tax lien sheriff sales at discount rates they often come with drawbacks for investors. One of those drawbacks is the right of redemption, effectively allowing a prior owner to repurchase the property at the sheriff sale price plus ten per cent.
53 P.S. Section 7293 governs the Right of Redemption in Pennsylvania. According to the law, a prior owner who has lost his property at tax lien sheriff sale may petition the court to redeem or repurchase the property. To qualify for redemption the prior owner must file the petition within nine months of the date of the sheriff sale deed being acknowledged. According to the statute, a prior owner is a person with a legal interest in the Property. The statute does not permit redemption of vacant properties or land. Therefore, only an occupied structure may be redeemed or repurchased.
Often time a third-party purchaser will attempt to challenge a redemption action. The new investor may not want to surrender the property purchased at sale. Redemptions of sheriff sale properties are usually challenged on one of three grounds; 1.) petitioner has not shown they have the funds to repurchase the property; 2.) petitioner cannot show he is a prior owner within the meaning of the statute; or 3.) the petition is untimely and/or the property is ineligible for redemption
In order for a petitioner to successfully redeem a property, the third-party purchaser must be served with the petition for redemption. The court will hold a redemption hearing. At the hearing the burden will be on the prior owner to show they are entitled to redemption by a preponderance of the evidence or more likely than not standard. If the petitioner cannot establish a right to redemption the third-party purchaser retains the Property. If the petitioner proves a right to redemption they must pay the third party purchaser the cost of the property at auction, plus ten percent, please necessary expenses paid in reference to the Property.
Mark Copoulos points with pride to multiple redemption hearings wherein he both successfully redeemed properties for prior owners, and defended redemptions for third-party purchasers. For example, in the case of City of Philadelphia v. S.W., an individual filed a petition to redeem a valuable property. Copoulos successfully established that the petitioner was not a prior owner. While the individual had asserted a legal interest in the Property, there was no evidence to establish any connection with the property before the redemption. Moreover, the petitioner was planning to resell the Property if the Court granted the redemption petition. The Court denied the petitionRepresenting Investors at Redemption Hearings.
Copoulos also points to the matter of City of Philadelphia v. L.I.. In that case Copoulos successfully filed a petition for redeem and executed a deed transfer of a property sold at sale to a prior owner.
If you have lost your property at sheriff sale or if you are attempting to challenge a petition for redemption, our Philadelphia Petition for Redemption Lawyers can help. For a free legal consultation at 267-535-9776 on how effectively resolve your challenge.
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