Mortgage

Specific Guidelines

Mortgages

1. Complete legal descriptions — Must include municipality, ward if in the City of Pittsburgh, county and state, and one of the following:
   • A Lot number along with the Plan Book Volume and Page number reference of the recorded subdivision.
   • A complete Lot Description in metes and bounds.
     • The metes and bounds can be footage and degree measurements, or bounds of other properties and streets and distances.
   • A prior deed reference for the same property.
2. Matching worded dollar consideration and numerical amount.
3. General Content Specifications
4. Formatting Specifications
5. Corrective Mortgage Requirements

Mortgage Satisfactions

Effective January 1, 2013, there is no longer a requirement to submit an additional $6.00 payment to cover the cost of retrieving/copying the first page of the mortgage when the mortgage satisfaction is not accompanied by a copy of the mortgage.

As defined in the Pennsylvania Mortgage Satisfaction Act of 2002, the Allegheny County Department of Real Estate will no longer require the submission of a mortgage satisfaction to be accompanied by the original mortgage, a certified copy of the mortgage, or a copy of the first page of the mortgage for verification of mortgage recording information.

The Department of Real Estate will continue to verify, in-house, the recording information (Mortgage Book Volume and Page Number) on the submitted mortgage satisfaction document at no additional cost to the general public.

Obtaining a Copy of a Mortgage Satisfaction

• Verify that the Mortgage Satisfaction was recorded.
• Obtain a copy in Room 101 of the County Office Building.
• If unable to obtain a copy, contact:
  • The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities.
  • You may also want to check with the Pennsylvania Treasury Department's unclaimed property division to determine if a mortgage company deposited funds before closing down.