Deputies changed the locks and movers hauled furniture out of the longtime Lansdowne home of 92-year-old Gloria Gaynor on Tuesday after the private buyer who acquired a tax lien moved to take possession, relatives said. Gaynor, who had already lost legal title to the property in a tax-lien foreclosure, died in early January after briefly returning to the house for what turned out to be a final visit, family members told reporters. Her relatives called the loss devastating and said the home represented decades of work and roughly $250,000 in equity, as per 6abc.
As reported by 6abc, deputies and movers were seen changing locks and removing furniture Tuesday after the buyer set an April 1 deadline for relatives to leave. Action News reported Gaynor returned home for a final day in January and died one day later, and the family said their legal challenges to the foreclosure went nowhere in court.
How the sale unfolded
Public property records show the deed to 335 Wayne Avenue was transferred to CJD Group LLC after an upset tax sale; listings and county data put the closing at March 3, 2025, with a reported purchase price of $14,419. According to reporting that examined the family’s account, the dispute began in 2020 when a roughly $3,500 tax bill went unpaid during the pandemic and a 2021 payment was later applied to the wrong year, allowing penalties and interest to swell the balance, according to Homes.com.
What the law requires
Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Tax Sale Law requires tax claim bureaus to publish notice, post the property and send certified mail before an upset sale, and courts require strict compliance with those steps. The statute is summarized at FindLaw, and the Commonwealth Court opinion in G.J. Gaynor v. Delaware County TCB & CJD Group shows judges reviewed the challenge and affirmed the trial court in this case.
Family reaction
Gaynor’s daughter, Jackie Davis, watched crews at the house and said she was “saddened, very saddened,” arguing the property was her mother’s life’s work and a legacy for descendants. The family told reporters they were scrambling to find a place that could accommodate relatives and estimated roughly $250,000 in equity was gone, while county officials noted the sheriff’s office only gets involved after a court issues a writ of possession, per reporting at Inquisitr…