Short answer: FastCashAnyHome buys houses, condos and land across Pennsylvania for cash, as-is: no repairs, no showings, and no fees or commissions charged to you. It’s a cash sale, so there’s no bank loan or appraisal on your side. You get an initial cash offer, confirmed after a quick walkthrough, and closing is 30 days or less. Call or text 267-388-0347.
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Pennsylvania’s housing is old (the median home dates to 1966), it has a transfer tax that can run well past 1% depending on the town, a foreclosure process that goes through the courts, and a property-tax sale system run county by county. This page covers the statewide rules and then sends you to the page for your part of the state. We have pages for Philadelphia and its suburbs, the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos, central Pennsylvania, and the Pittsburgh area.
How selling a house works in Pennsylvania: the rules, with sources
Each line comes from the Pennsylvania statute or agency named in it, read on 2026-10-11. Your title company, and an attorney where it matters, have the last word on any particular sale.
- Transfer tax: 1% to the state, plus local. Pennsylvania’s realty transfer tax is “imposed at a rate of 1 percent on the value of real estate,” and it’s “often” collected “along with an additional local realty transfer tax.” Both the seller and the buyer are “jointly and severally liable” for it. Source: PA Department of Revenue, Realty Transfer Tax.
- The local part varies a lot. In Philadelphia the total is “3.578% (City) + 1% (Commonwealth) = 4.578%.” Source: City of Philadelphia, Realty Transfer Tax.
- Foreclosure type: judicial. A Pennsylvania mortgage foreclosure starts with a complaint filed in court. Source: HUD Mortgagee Letter 2016-03, Attachment 1.
- The Act 91 Notice. Before foreclosing on most homes, lenders must send an Act 91 Notice, and the homeowner then has 30 days, plus three for mail, to meet with an approved counseling agency. That meeting is free and is the only way to apply for the state’s HEMAP loan program. Source: PHFA HEMAP Fact Sheet.
- Seller’s disclosure. A seller must disclose known material defects on a property disclosure statement and deliver it before the agreement of sale is signed. An executor or administrator selling in the course of an estate is exempt. Source: 68 Pa.C.S. 7302 and 7303.
- Small estates leave the house out. Pennsylvania’s small-estate shortcut covers up to $50,000 of property “exclusive of real estate,” so an inherited house usually goes through the estate process. Source: 20 Pa.C.S. 3102.
- Property-tax sales, county by county. Outside the big cities, a county Tax Claim Bureau sells tax-delinquent property under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law. In Montgomery County, for example, the yearly upset sale is “the first sale at which a delinquent taxpayer’s property may be sold,” open to properties two years behind. Source: Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau, Upset Sale.
Pennsylvania houses are old, and buyers’ inspectors know it
The numbers explain a lot about selling here. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, the median Pennsylvania home was built in 1966. Nearly a quarter of the state’s housing (24.8%) went up before 1940, and 44.4% before 1960. Only 7.3% is from 2010 or later (ACS 2024 1-year, Pennsylvania, table B25034). For contrast, the median Texas home was built in 1994.
Pennsylvania is also a row-house and twin state: 18.7% of all housing units are “1-unit, attached” (table B25024). Owners live in 69.3% of occupied homes, and the median value of an owner-occupied home is $277,600 (tables B25003 and B25077).
Put those together and you get the classic Pennsylvania sale problem. A house that’s been in one family for decades, on a party wall, with an old roof, a stone or block foundation, galvanized plumbing and wiring from another era. A buyer with a mortgage sends an inspector, the inspector writes a long list, and the lender wants some of it fixed before closing. Our offer prices that list in, so you don’t have to work through it first.
Foreclosure in Pennsylvania, in two paragraphs
Because foreclosure here goes through the courts, it usually gives a homeowner more time than in states that foreclose without a lawsuit. The first big date is the Act 91 Notice: the meeting with an approved counselor is free, it’s the only way to apply for HEMAP, and the clock is 30 days plus three for mail. Our full Pennsylvania foreclosure guide walks through Act 91, HEMAP and the free help in order. In Philadelphia, the court runs its own diversion program, covered on Selling a House in Foreclosure in Philadelphia.
A fast sale may help some homeowners avoid a completed foreclosure, but timing matters. If a sale date is already scheduled, contact your lender, an attorney or a housing counselor right away, the same day you contact any buyer. When a sale goes ahead, the mortgage payoff comes out of the price at closing.
An inherited house in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s small-estate shortcut doesn’t reach real estate, so when a house is part of an estate, someone usually needs to be appointed through the county’s Register of Wills before it can be sold. The estate executor or administrator then signs the deed. Two Pennsylvania rules help that seller: transfers that pass by will or by inheritance are exempt from the realty transfer tax, and a fiduciary selling during the estate doesn’t have to complete the seller’s disclosure statement. (The later sale from the estate to a buyer is a separate transfer, and your title company will tell you how the tax applies to it.)
We can make an initial offer while the estate paperwork is still moving, so the sale is ready when the court is. Our pages on selling an inherited house in Philadelphia and selling a house in probate in Montgomery County go through those two counties’ offices step by step.
Past-due property taxes in Pennsylvania
Most Pennsylvania counties sell tax-delinquent property through a Tax Claim Bureau, starting with a yearly upset sale for properties two years behind. Montgomery County’s bureau warns bidders that an upset sale is “subject to all liens and encumbrances.” Dates, bid rules and what happens to unsold properties differ from county to county, so the county bureau’s own notice is the one that counts.
If you’d rather keep the house, call the county Tax Claim Bureau about a payment arrangement before the sale. If selling is the better answer, the past-due taxes are paid from the sale price at closing, like any other lien.
This page is for general information only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Anyone dealing with foreclosure, probate, liens, back taxes, or a legal deadline should consider speaking with a qualified attorney, tax professional, or housing counselor before making a decision.
Where we buy in Pennsylvania
We buy across Pennsylvania. Each page below exists because something about selling in that place is different, and each one says what.
Philadelphia. The city adds its own transfer tax on top of the state’s, much of its housing is attached and old, and the City runs a unit that helps clear titles tangled after a death. Start with Sell My House Fast in Philadelphia, then the inherited-house and foreclosure pages for those situations.
The Philadelphia suburbs. In Bucks County the page looks at why a normal sale takes longer than sellers expect. Montgomery County has its own page plus a separate one on probate in Montgomery County. Chester County is where the parcel matters as much as the house, including Act 319 roll-back taxes when land is sold. And in Delaware County, deferred county taxes come due at a sale and the rules change from one township to the next.
The Lehigh Valley, Berks and the Poconos. Allentown is one of the few cities that inspects a house before it can be sold, so that page starts there. Northampton County covers the county’s own numbers and the warehouse question. Berks County, around Reading, has its own page too. Up in the mountains, Monroe County is about property-owners’-association communities and second homes, and Carbon County starts with checking the mine map before you sell.
Central Pennsylvania. In parts of Lancaster the city has a say in exterior work. York splits into a city market and a county market that behave differently. And Dauphin County, around Harrisburg, has its own page.
Western Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh has a higher transfer tax inside the city line, a minority of owner-occupied homes and a lot of century-old houses. Out in Greensburg and Westmoreland County, tax bills still rest on a very old assessment, which changes how a sale is priced.
Not on that list? We still buy there. Call, and we’ll look at the house the same way. Every area page we have, in Pennsylvania and beyond, is on Where We Buy.
How a sale to us works
- Call or text 267-388-0347, or use the form. Tell us the address, the condition, whether anyone lives there, and what’s going on with the house.
- Get an initial cash offer. We look at what nearby houses sold for, what shape this one is in, and what repairs it needs, and we show you how we got there. The number is confirmed after a quick walkthrough; if something changes, a person tells you what and why.
- Close through a title company. A neutral, third-party title company handles the paperwork and the money. Closing: 30 days or less, with flexible closing dates so you can move on your terms. An estate or a title being cleared sets its own pace, and we wait for it. We work out closing costs as part of each deal.
- Get paid at closing. No fees or commissions to you. Any mortgage, liens or back taxes come out of the sale proceeds, and the transfer tax is split the way the agreement of sale says.
We buy houses with tenants in place, on the leases as written. If listing with an agent would clearly put more money in your pocket, we’ll tell you.
Pennsylvania FAQ
How much is the transfer tax when I sell a house in Pennsylvania?
The state charges 1% of the value, and most places add a local transfer tax on top. Philadelphia’s combined rate is 4.578%. The seller and buyer are both liable for it, and the agreement of sale says how it’s split, so ask to see that line before you sign.
Does Pennsylvania foreclose through the courts?
Yes. A Pennsylvania mortgage foreclosure starts with a complaint in court, and most homeowners first receive an Act 91 Notice that gives them 30 days, plus three for mail, to meet with a free counselor and apply for HEMAP.
Do I have to fill out a seller’s disclosure if I sell to you?
Pennsylvania requires most sellers to disclose known material defects before the agreement is signed, and estate executors and administrators are exempt. We buy as-is either way, so nothing on the form has to be fixed first.
Can I sell an inherited Pennsylvania house without going through probate?
Usually not. The state’s $50,000 small-estate shortcut excludes real estate, so a house typically needs an executor or administrator appointed through the county’s Register of Wills. We can make an offer while that’s in progress.
What happens if I fall two years behind on property taxes?
In most counties the property becomes eligible for the Tax Claim Bureau’s yearly upset sale. Call the county bureau about a payment arrangement first; if you sell instead, the back taxes are paid from the sale price at closing.
Do you charge fees or commissions?
No fees or commissions to you. A mortgage, liens or back taxes are paid from the sale proceeds, and we work out closing costs as part of each deal.
Sources
- PA Department of Revenue, Realty Transfer Tax, read 2026-10-11
- City of Philadelphia, Realty Transfer Tax, read 2026-10-11
- HUD Mortgagee Letter 2016-03, Attachment 1, read 2026-10-11
- PHFA HEMAP Fact Sheet, read 2026-10-11
- 68 Pa.C.S. ch. 73, Real Estate Seller Disclosure, read 2026-10-11
- 20 Pa.C.S. 3102, small estates, read 2026-10-11
- Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau, Upset Sale, read 2026-10-11
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, Pennsylvania, read 2026-10-11
FastCashAnyHome · 267-388-0347 · We buy houses in Pennsylvania · General information, not legal or tax advice. No obligation. Your information stays private.