We buy houses in Warren County, PA

Unpaid taxes end up with the Tax Claim Bureau. It holds three kinds of sale:

• the upset sale each September, for homes two years behind
• the judicial sale the next year, usually in May
• the repository list, for homes that still did not sell.

The 2026 upset sale was September 28 at 1 p.m. in the Main Courtroom. The next judicial sale is set for May 2027.

At the upset sale, the buyer takes on the past-due taxes, liens and mortgages. At the judicial sale, the home sells free and clear if everyone was properly notified.

The Bureau says upset sale lists usually run in the Warren Times Observer the first week of July. It also says many owners pay their back taxes before the sale date.

Before any tax sale, the Bureau must do three things (72 P.S. 5860.602):

• run newspaper notice at least 30 days ahead
• mail each owner certified notice at least 30 days ahead
• post the property at least 10 days ahead.

Repository bids need approval from the county, the town and the school district. On an approved bid, the buyer also pays transfer tax of 2% of the bid.

The Warren County Sheriff carries out sheriff's sales for the courts. The office number is 814-723-7553.

We could not find a posted schedule of sale dates, so call the office or watch the legal notices.

Before a Pennsylvania lender forecloses, it may send you an Act 91 notice. PHFA says a face to face meeting with an approved counseling agency within 33 days of that notice puts the foreclosure on hold.

That meeting starts your application for HEMAP, the state's emergency mortgage help. PHFA says the full process can take up to four months.

Warren County has a lot of old, unplugged oil and gas wells. A 2021 StateImpact report cited 1,561 documented orphan wells here. Only McKean and Venango counties had more.

In 2023, the Allegheny National Forest supervisor told the Times Observer that 1,200 orphaned and abandoned wells there are registered with DEP. Federal officials estimate the forest may hold 5,000 to 7,000.

If your land has an old well, or the oil and gas rights were sold off, a real estate attorney can confirm what passes with your deed.

Clean and Green taxes farm and forest land of 10 acres or more on its use. Leave the program and you may owe up to seven years of back taxes, plus 6% simple interest.

The county says no back tax is charged just because the land is sold. You must file a Notice of Conveyance at least 30 days before the sale.

Pennsylvania DEP does not regulate private wells. We found no state rule that makes you test the water before a sale.

Sewage is another matter. Your sales contract must state it in any of these cases (25 Pa. Code 72.32):

• the system was put in under the 10-acre permit exemption
• the lot is served by a holding tank
• no community sewer is available.

If the house is your main home, the homestead exclusion cuts your school tax. Apply with the Assessment Office by March 1 for the next tax year.

Selling a titled mobile home that is hooked up to utilities and lived in? PennDOT requires a tax status certification from the Tax Claim Bureau. Any back taxes on it must be paid first.