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September 18, 2026
Pennsylvania Client Alert: New REO Contact Reporting Requirements Following Sheriff's Sales
Effective September 18, 2026, Pennsylvania’s Act 29 requires purchasers of non-exempt real estate to submit contact information to the county’s chief assessor within 30 days of purchase. Servicers should incorporate this requirement into their procedures when a lender, investor or REO affiliate acquires property at sheriff’s sale.
The purpose is practical: municipalities need a reliable contact who can address property maintenance problems and code violations after the property becomes REO.
What information is required?
- Business owners other than LLCs: The acquiring entity’s legal name, business address and telephone number, plus the email address of an owner or employee.
- LLC owners: The company’s name, company address and telephone number, plus the email address of a member or manager with an ownership interest or right in the LLC.
- For either ownership structure: The name, address, telephone number and email address of an individual, representative or employee with the authority and ability to arrange repairs, maintain the property or remedy property problems and municipal code violations.
An appropriate servicer or property preservation representative may serve as the authorized property contact if that person has the necessary authority and ability. This designation does not replace the required information about the acquiring owner.
Submissions must follow the assessor’s prescribed form and method. Changes to required contact information must be reported within 30 days. Counties may impose fines of up to $500 for knowingly or intentionally providing false or incorrect information or failing to update required information.
Our recommendation: provide the acquiring entity’s information and authorized property contact with the bidding instructions. This allows foreclosure counsel to prepare the submission before the sale and deliver it to the assessor promptly after a successful acquisition, alongside post-sale reporting.
The statute measures the deadline from “purchase” without separately defining the timing for a sheriff’s sale. Establish the deadline with counsel early rather than assuming it begins upon deed recording.
For more information or assistance updating your bidding and REO procedures, contact Mike Shavel (mshavel@hillwallack.com) or Jill Fein (jfein@hillwallack.com) at Hill Wallack LLP.
Authority: Act 29 of 2026 (HB 858), 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 2501–2508. Official statute
