Sheriff's Sale: What can they take?

[Kevinb84]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA

Hey all,

In a bit of a pickle here, i'll try to be brief. About 2 years ago I helped my brother purchase a motorcycle. It was a 2003 Ninja 250 for $3000. He had no credit and at the time I had good credit so we put it in my name. He ended up losing his job and couldn't make the payments anymore and I had enough problems of my own to deal with to put anything torwards it. We thought it best for him to sell it and use that money to pay the rest off. By the time he actually sold it, about $1000 was incurred in interest and fees alone so the $2000 he got for it didn't help much. I was recently summoned to court and have to respond soon within about 25 days. I don't have the cash to pony up with the company and it said that if I don't pay they will hold a sheriff's auction.

I am married and everything is jointly owned by my wife and I. What exactly can be sold at a sheriff's auction? Do I have any other options to take care of this? The paper said it wanted the payment in full in form of a check or money order but that is not possible right now. Someone had mentioned that I file a "Sheriff's Hearing" but I'm not sure what that was or how to file one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kevin

[ecmst12]

Joint property is vulnerable to a judgement against EITHER party.

[Kevinb84]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Joint property is vulnerable to a judgement against EITHER party.

Nice. So there are no preventative measures I can take?

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by Kevinb84

Nice. So there are no preventative measures I can take?

Sure. Pay the debt before the sale.

DC

[xylene]

Do they have judgment or not?

If they don't then all this 'sheriff's sale' talk is premature.

[Kevinb84]

Originally Posted by xylene

Do they have judgment or not?

If they don't then all this 'sheriff's sale' talk is premature.

No, I just got a letter 3 days ago. I would like to know what my options are before I get back to them.

Originally Posted by debtcollector`

Sure. Pay the debt before the sale.

DC

If I had the cash I wouldn't be in this position right now. Paying it (at least in full anyway) is simply not in the cards right now.

[nrknlknek]

First off, if the creditor does not have a judgment, there is no sherrifs sale. Typically, sherriff sales are last on the list of creditor remedies because they are expensive to execute. Garnishments and bank account attachments are proabably what they will look to do first. You have certain exemptions that you can invoke to save some of your assets---you should look at PA lkaw to ascertain.

[ecmst12]

Your wages can't be garnished in PA. However your bank accounts can be. BUT, not without a judgement. So do your best to pay before it gets to court.

[Kevinb84]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Your wages can't be garnished in PA. However your bank accounts can be. BUT, not without a judgement. So do your best to pay before it gets to court.

Well that is good to know. If I were to call the company would they be willing to make arrangements that fit by budget or is it too late now that they are looking for a judgment?