Lehigh County Tax Claim Bureau
Use this office for delinquent property-tax balances, certified tax searches, tax-sale questions, notices, and current parcel status. Phone: 610-782-3119. Address: 17 South 7th Street, Room 120, Allentown, PA 18101.
Allentown, Pennsylvania · Lehigh County
Can I Sell My Allentown House With Back Taxes or Liens?
Yes. You can sell an Allentown house with back taxes or liens; the title company, the closing professional that checks ownership and recorded claims, reviews the records and current payoffs as part of the sale, and you can call us before paying a balance upfront.
You don't need to pay off your back taxes before we settle. We buy houses with back taxes and liens — payoffs get handled through the closing, not by you upfront.
Call 888-274-5006 to talk through the property.
Talk through your Allentown lien or tax question
Share the property address and whatever you have about the notice, payoff, creditor, or tax account. The situation starts at Back taxes / Liens, and you can edit it before submitting.
Share your Allentown lien or tax details
Tell us the address and what you know about the notice, payoff, or tax account.
Prefer to call? 888-274-5006.
What we do
We start with the house, the notice or record in front of you, and the question you need answered. A lien is a legal claim that can affect title or the money shown at settlement; a lienholder is the creditor or other party claiming payment; a payoff is the current amount and instructions supplied by the creditor or tax office to satisfy an obligation as of a stated date.
We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us.
We give written cash offers in 24 hours. Written offer and written terms before you commit; title-company closing.
It's real estate. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. We won't disappear when that happens, and we'll be fighting to get this to the closing table.
Tax Claim, Civil, Recorder, and Assessment answer different questions
The Lehigh County Tax Claim Bureau handles delinquent property-tax balances, certified tax searches, and tax-sale questions. The Clerk of Judicial Records Civil Division maintains civil records that can include judgments and liens. The Recorder of Deeds provides recorded deed, mortgage, and release documents. The Office of Assessment maintains assessed values and parcel records. An assessment is not today's sale price or a delinquent payoff, and one public record search does not establish the complete title and settlement answer for a particular property.
Lehigh County tax sales are separate from mortgage foreclosure
Lehigh County Tax Claim administers the delinquent-property-tax process. An upset sale is the county's public tax-sale process. Its upset-sale information says an upset sale can expose property with two years of delinquent taxes and remains subject to liens and encumbrances, meaning other claims or restrictions affecting the property. The judicial tax-sale process is a separate later court process for property that was not sold at upset sale.
Use the Lehigh County Tax Claim Bureau with the parcel and notice in front of you to ask about the current account, payoff, notices, and sale status. Dates and notices can change, so check the current county information directly. A mortgage-foreclosure or court-execution notice belongs with the current Lehigh County Sheriff's Office sale information instead.
What you can do next
We can set it up so you don't prepay anything — it comes out at closing.
Bring the notice, parcel information, and payoff details you have. The title company and the responsible creditor or tax office put the current items and instructions into the written settlement information.
Think the payoff may be too high?
Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before.
What to expect
Contact comes first. The steps below show how the property conversation, written terms, title review, payoff checks, and settlement fit together; they are not a list of conditions before you call.
1. Tell us the property and situation
Share the Allentown address, parcel number if you have it, the notice or document, the tax office or lienholder named, the amount you have seen, and the timing that concerns you. Start with what you know; you do not have to solve the payoff before calling.
2. Review the written terms
We discuss the house as it stands and the lien or tax information you have. Read the proposed price, responsibilities, payoff treatment, and closing terms before deciding whether the comparison fits your situation.
3. Confirm title, authority, and payoff details
The title company reviews ownership and recorded claims for the specific transaction. The lienholder or responsible tax office provides current payoff or release information, and the closing professionals address priority, meaning the order in which claims are paid or otherwise take effect, along with authority, taxes, and other items that affect settlement. The deed, civil, and tax records help start that review; they do not replace it.
4. Review the settlement figures and close
The settlement statement—the closing paper listing the sale price, payoffs, taxes, transfer taxes, fees, and amount left after those items—shows the final figures. We always review the settlement sheet with the seller and walk through how the money breaks down so there is no confusion. We try to do that the day before closing so settlement is smooth; the title company confirms the final numbers.
Allentown and Lehigh County offices to check
Use the office that matches the question and the parcel's actual municipality. Allentown City, Bethlehem, Whitehall Township, Salisbury Township, and Emmaus Borough are separate municipalities; an Allentown mailing address does not decide every local requirement. The Lehigh County municipal locator can help orient you to the jurisdiction. Do not use an assessment record as a tax payoff or a county record search as the final title answer.
Clerk of Judicial Records, Civil Division
The Civil Division, also called the Prothonotary, maintains civil and family cases, judgments, notes, liens, and mortgage-foreclosure cases. Phone: 610-782-3148. Address: Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 W Hamilton Street, Room 122, Allentown, PA 18101.
Use the record as part of the title conversation; the search itself does not decide release or priority.
Recorder of Deeds Division
The Recorder provides recorded deed, mortgage, and release documents for the county record. Phone: 610-782-3162. Address: Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 W Hamilton Street, Room 122, Allentown, PA 18101.
A title professional uses the actual deed and mortgage or release records in the property-specific review.
Lehigh County Office of Assessment
Use this office for assessed values and parcel records, not for a delinquent-tax payoff. Phone: 610-782-3038. Address: 17 South Seventh Street, Room 517, Allentown, PA 18101.
Assessment is a different measure from today's sale price and from the amount required to satisfy a tax or lien account.
Lehigh County Sheriff's Office
Use the Sheriff's Office for mortgage-foreclosure and court-execution sale administration. Phone: 610-782-3175. Address: Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 West Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18101. See the Sheriff's Office contact page for office details.
Check the actual docket, the court's case record, notice, order, and any postponement. Delinquent tax sales are handled separately by Tax Claim.
Keep Allentown transfer tax in the net comparison
The City of Allentown's December 23, 2025 notice says taxable city-property transfers recorded from January 1, 2026 use a 2.5% total realty transfer tax unless exempt; the state portion remains 1%. The notice says the recording submission date, not the settlement date, determines the applicable rate. This is the transaction total, not an automatic seller share. The contract and actual settlement statement determine allocation.
Do not apply Allentown's city total throughout Lehigh County. Pennsylvania Revenue describes a 1% state realty transfer tax plus applicable local tax on taxable transfers, subject to exemptions. Ask the title company to show the actual applicable figures for the property and recording date.
Read the City of Allentown transfer-tax notice and Pennsylvania Department of Revenue realty-transfer-tax guidance. The city notice is dated December 23, 2025.
Compare the payoff with your net proceeds
Use the editable Allentown calculator with your own sale price or written terms, mortgage payoff, lien or tax amount, repairs, carrying costs, and selling costs. Net proceeds are what you keep after costs, not the sale price. Just an estimate — the actual number could be more or less depending on the home's condition.
Allentown property-liens and back-tax questions
Can I call about an Allentown house with back taxes or liens before paying the balance upfront?
Yes. Start with the property address and whatever notice, payoff statement, or creditor information you have. The responsible office, lienholder, and title company confirm the current amount, instructions, and settlement treatment.
What should I have ready for a lien or back-tax conversation?
Bring the property address, parcel number if you have it, deed or owner information, tax or lien notice, creditor or case number, payoff statement, sale notice, mortgage information, and any estate or trust papers. Start with what you know; you do not have to solve the record before you call.
Are a Lehigh County tax sale and a mortgage foreclosure sale the same process?
No. Use the tax-sale section to match your notice to the right office and next step; do not rely on a date without checking the current notice.
Can an online county search prove that my title is clear?
No. An online search alone is not the property-specific answer. Bring what you find to the title company and use the records section to see what each record is for.
What if the payoff is more than my Allentown house is worth?
Ask us about the property and the payoff information you have. The current lienholder or tax office and the title company need to confirm the balance, priority, release path, and settlement treatment before the written terms can be understood.
What if I dispute the lien or tax amount?
Keep the notice, judgment, invoice, correspondence, and proof of payment together. Ask the responsible office, lienholder, title professional, or attorney what documentation addresses the dispute, and bring those details into the property conversation.
Does the Allentown transfer-tax rate apply to every property in Lehigh County?
No. Use the transfer-tax section to see which figures need to be applied, then ask the title company to show them on this property's settlement statement.
What happens after I contact you about the lien?
You share the address and situation first. We discuss the property and the documents you have, provide written terms for review, and then the title company and responsible offices confirm ownership, liens, payoffs, releases, and settlement figures before closing.
Talk through the property
Use the form above with Back taxes / Liens selected, or call 888-274-5006. Start with the Allentown address and the notice or payoff information you have.