Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Tax Deed563,293 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Tax Deed

Redemption periodstate default

None in most counties for upset/judicial sales; limited redemption (90 days) survives in specific home-rule counties (e.g., Philadelphia, in narrow cases)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer in the large majority of counties

Governing statutestate default

Pennsylvania Real Estate Tax Sale Law, 72 P.S. §5860.101 et seq.

Notes

Pennsylvania RETSL tax-deed via Lancaster County Tax Claim Bureau. Upset Tax Sale annually mid-September online via GovDeals (2026 Upset commencing Monday September 14, 2026). Continued Upset and Judicial Sales historically mid-November online on GovDeals. Pre-registration required with hard deadlines. Upset leaves many liens attached; Judicial aims free-and-clear after lienholder notice. Note: Lancaster is among PA counties with post-sale owner redemption rights in some contexts — verify current RETSL/local practice before bidding.

Auction logistics

Format

Online

Frequency

Upset ~September; Continued Upset + Judicial typically November

Platform

GovDeals — Lancaster County Tax Claim Bureau ↗

Deposit rules

Pre-register on the specific GovDeals sale storefront by the posted deadline (e.g. registration opened weeks before November 2025 continued sales with hard cutoff). Payment in full per Conditions of Sale (historically cash/certified funds at knock-down for live sales; online terms control for virtual sales). Power of attorney/entity docs if bidding for others.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Upset: mortgages/judgments typically survive. Judicial: free and clear of most liens after proper notice; analyze federal tax liens separately. Strict notice compliance under RETSL.

Quiet title

Common for Upset purchases; often still used after Judicial for insurance comfort.

Deal maths for Pennsylvania

Assessment ratio: 0.4065× of market value
Typical quiet title: $1,500–$5,000 · 4 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

Pennsylvania has no statewide assessment ratio. Counties assess against their own base years, some decades old, and the State Tax Equalization Board publishes a Common Level Ratio per county each year. Always use the county ratio.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Lancaster County Tax Claim Bureau ↗

Clerk of court

Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds / Prothonotary ↗

Property appraiser

Lancaster County Assessment Office ↗

GIS / parcel map

Lancaster County GIS / property search ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

City of Lancaster / downtown

Urban revitalization and institutional employment supporting multifamily demand

Manheim Township / northern suburbs

Strong school-driven SF demand and relative value versus Philadelphia suburbs

East Hempfield / Mountville corridor

Suburban employment access and ongoing residential absorption