Where we buy in Pennsylvania
We are a Pittsburgh company, and we buy houses in the city and the six counties around it:
- Allegheny County, including Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods
- Westmoreland County, including Greensburg
- Washington County, including the city of Washington
- Beaver County, including Beaver
- Butler County, including Butler
- Fayette County, including Uniontown
We buy the houses ourselves. We are not agents and we do not list houses: after we buy a house, we repair it and resell it or keep it as a rental. If you are not sure whether your house is in our area, ask us.
What selling a house in Pennsylvania involves
Some rules apply to every sale in the state, whoever the buyer is.
The seller’s property disclosure statement
Before the agreement of sale is signed, a Pennsylvania seller must give the buyer a signed, dated statement that discloses “any material defects with the property known to the seller” (68 Pa.C.S. § 7303). The law covers homes with one to four units (68 Pa.C.S. § 7103).
The law does not exempt as-is sales or sales to investors. Its exceptions include:
- sales by an executor or administrator in the course of settling an estate;
- court-ordered sales, including sheriff sales, and transfers in foreclosure or by deed in lieu of foreclosure;
- transfers between co-owners, to a spouse or children, or in a divorce;
- sales to a buyer who will demolish the house or convert it to a non-residential use; and
- unimproved land.
An as-is clause does not take the place of the disclosure. The State Real Estate Commission requires any clause that relieves the seller of responsibility for defects to be printed in bold in the agreement (49 Pa. Code § 35.333), and a seller who willfully or negligently fails to disclose a known defect can be liable for the buyer’s actual damages. Act 74 of 2026, signed October 22, 2026, adds flood-risk items to the disclosure once it takes effect (Act 74 of 2026). When you sell to us, disclose what you know; we price the condition into the offer either way.
The realty transfer tax
Pennsylvania taxes the transfer at 1% of the price, “often along with an additional local realty transfer tax,” and “both grantor and grantee are held jointly and severally liable for payment of the tax” (Department of Revenue). In Allegheny County, the total “ranges from 2%-5% of the total consideration of a property, with 1% submitted to the State” (Allegheny County):
| Where the house is | Local tax, on top of the 1% state tax | Total |
|---|---|---|
| City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh School District | 3% city, 1% school district | 5% |
| City of Pittsburgh, Baldwin-Whitehall School District | 3% city, 0.5% school district | 4.5% |
| Most other Allegheny County municipalities | 0.5% municipality, 0.5% school district | 2% |
| Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair, and McCandless | 1% municipality, 0.5% school district | 2.5% |
| McKeesport | 1.5% city, 0.5% school district | 3% |
The 5% total inside Pittsburgh has applied to residential deeds since February 1, 2020 (Allegheny County). The law does not say who pays which share; the agreement of sale does, so read that section before you sign.
Local resale inspections and certificates
Rules at the sale depend on the municipality:
- The City of Pittsburgh “does not require a Certificate of Occupancy to sell or buy a property like other municipalities surrounding Pittsburgh,” but it does ask sellers to complete a zoning certificate request (City of Pittsburgh).
- Many surrounding towns require a resale inspection, an occupancy permit, or a sewer dye test before a sale. Blawnox, for example, requires an occupancy inspection and certificate, a dye test, and a sewer lateral camera inspection for every sale (Borough of Blawnox), and Swissvale requires an occupancy permit application, a dye test certification, and a lien letter (Borough of Swissvale).
- When the inspection finds violations, state law keeps the sale from stalling. If none of the violations make the house unfit to live in, the town must issue a temporary use and occupancy certificate “to authorize the purchaser to fully utilize or reside in the property while correcting violations.” If they are serious, it issues a temporary access certificate so the buyer can make repairs. Either way, the buyer has 12 months to correct the violations, and the town may not require an escrow or a bond (Act 133 of 2016).
For an as-is sale, that means the buyer can take on the repairs the inspection calls for, instead of you.
Title and settlement
A title company or settlement agent handles the closing. The settlement agent collects the money and pays it out under the agreement, and is “responsible for the legal transfer of title and ownership of the property” (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). The closing statement also settles property taxes between buyer and seller, with lines for taxes the seller paid in advance or still owes (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). You can look up a house’s assessment and tax records on the Allegheny County Real Estate Portal.
If the house is in foreclosure or in an estate
Pennsylvania has its own notices, deadlines, and court steps for both. Our guides explain the foreclosure process in Pennsylvania, sheriff sales in Allegheny County, and probate in Pennsylvania.
Selling to a cash buyer in Pennsylvania
Some companies that advertise “we buy houses” do not buy them. A wholesaler puts a house under contract and then sells that contract to another buyer for a fee. Pennsylvania regulates this under Act 52 of 2024, in effect since January 2025 (Act 52 of 2024):
- A wholesaler must hold a real estate license.
- The contract must say that it is a wholesale transaction, and that you may get an appraisal and consult a lawyer or a real estate licensee who is not connected to the wholesaler.
- You can cancel until midnight of the 30th day after you sign, or until the sale closes if that comes first. You cannot waive that right, and money you paid must be refunded within 10 business days. A contract without the required disclosures can be cancelled at any time before closing.
Whoever you sign with, ask whether they are buying the house or assigning the contract, ask for proof of funds, and close through a title company. Our page on cash home buyers in Pittsburgh has a fuller checklist.