Section 3131. Sale of real property located in more than one county

(a) Where real property to be sold in execution consists of an interest in a single tract of land which lies in more than one county, the writ shall be directed to the sheriff of one of those counties and the plaintiff shall file a petition with the court of that county for leave to sell the same at execution.

(b) The petition shall set forth

(1) a description of the real property;

(2) whether the property is severable and whether the portion within either county can be sold separately without prejudice to the remainder; and

(3) the estimated value of the property within each county and if the value in any county is insufficient to satisfy the judgment, a statement of how much of the property in adjoining counties is required to be included in the order of sale.

(c) The court may enter judgment upon the pleadings or take evidence by deposition or otherwise, shall order the extent of the real property which shall be subjected to execution, describing it by metes and bounds, shall designate the place of sale, and shall control the distribution of the proceeds of sale. The court may apportion the proceeds so as to satisfy prior lienors, including those having a lien upon a portion of a single tract which lay in a different county and which was not sold on execution.

(d) If the order of the court directs a sale to include land in another county, a copy of the pleadings and the order of the court shall be filed by the plaintiff in the office of the prothonotary of such other county and indexed therein. Notice of the sale shall be advertised in each county.

The provisions of this Rule 3131 adopted March 30, 1960, effective November 1, 1960; amended April 20, 1998, effective July 1, 1998, 28 Pa.B. 2026; amended December 16, 2003, efective July 1, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 9. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (255365) to (255366).