Selling and buying without an agent in Pennsylvania

Who runs your closing

Pennsylvania is not an attorney state. A title or settlement company conducts the typical residential closing: it runs the title search, issues title insurance, prepares the settlement statement, collects and disburses the funds, and records the deed at the county Recorder of Deeds. No lawyer is required, and most sales close without one. You can still hire a real estate attorney to review your agreement of sale or handle a wrinkle such as an inherited property or a title defect, and private sales sometimes lean on one for exactly that reason.

What you must disclose

The Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law, 68 Pa.C.S. 7301 and following, requires sellers of residential property to disclose known material defects on the State Real Estate Commission’s prescribed Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement before the agreement of sale is signed. The form itself is set by 49 Pa. Code 35.335a. One section is specific to the state’s geology: you must disclose known mine subsidence and sinkhole risk, a reflection of Pennsylvania’s coal-mining history and the reason the Commonwealth runs a Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund. Answer from what you actually know, and do not guess.

Transfer taxes

Pennsylvania charges a state realty transfer tax of 1 percent on the value of the property changing hands, collected by the county Recorder of Deeds when the deed is recorded. Almost every municipality and school district adds a local realty transfer tax on top, commonly another 1 percent, so many sales carry a combined rate near 2 percent. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh set higher local rates. The tax is joint and several, meaning buyer and seller are both liable, though who actually pays is negotiated in the contract and is often split.

The bottom line for doing it yourself

Selling or buying on your own in Pennsylvania is workable because the title company carries the closing mechanics for both sides. Your real work is pricing, filling out the disclosure form honestly including the mine subsidence question, and confirming the local transfer tax rate for your specific municipality so the combined bill does not surprise you at settlement. This is general information, not legal advice.