What selling your house for cash actually costs in Franklin County, PA

Selling your house to a cash buyer in Franklin County should cost you nothing out of pocket. A legitimate buyer charges no commission and no fees, and pays the standard seller closing costs. The real cost is the discount from full market value, usually 10 to 25 percent depending on condition. Here’s the honest math, line by line.

Almost no company in this business publishes numbers. We’d rather you see them before you call anyone, including us.

The two ways to sell, side by side

Pennsylvania realty transfer tax, and who pays it

On the tax line, the numbers are set by law, not by the buyer. Pennsylvania charges a state realty transfer tax of 1 percent of the price under Article XI-C of the Tax Reform Code, collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. On top of that, the municipality and the school district each levy their own share under the Local Tax Enabling Act. In Chambersburg the local share is 1 percent, half to the borough and half to the Chambersburg Area School District, so the bill is 2 percent of the price, and 2 percent is the usual total across Franklin County. Custom in Pennsylvania splits that evenly, 1 percent to the buyer and 1 percent to the seller, though the split is negotiable.The tax is paid when the deed is recorded with the Franklin County Recorder of Deeds at 272 North Second Street in Chambersburg, along with the $92.75 recording fee for a deed of up to four pages and four names (two dollars per extra page, fifty cents per extra name). Unlike Maryland, there is no county recordation tax on top. In our purchases we cover the seller’s customary half of the transfer tax and the recording fee.

Where the offer number comes from

Our offer starts at what your house would sell for fixed up, based on real neighborhood comps. From that we subtract three things: the actual repair budget, our costs to carry and resell the property (transfer tax lands on us twice, once buying and once selling, along with utilities and a resale commission), and our margin. What remains is the offer, and we show every line of it in writing. The full walkthrough is on our how it works page.

Run an example, with round numbers for illustration. A brick twin in Chambersburg might be worth $200,000 renovated. If it needs $45,000 of work and our costs plus margin come to $40,000, the offer lands around $115,000. A seller netting that in three weeks, having paid nothing to sell, often comes out close to a listed as-is sale that took four months, a price cut, and a buyer’s inspection credit. Sometimes they come out behind, and we’ll say so when they do.

What moves the number up or down

1. Repair scope.Cosmetics barely move an offer. Roofs, foundations, main systems, knob-and-tube wiring, and mold or fire damage move it a lot, because they’re what we actually pay to fix.
2. Location and demand. Guilford Township, Greene Township, and the Waynesboro side resell fast, so we can pay tighter. Slower blocks carry more risk and price accordingly.
3. Occupancy.Vacant is simplest. Tenant-occupied still works, but the lease terms, the borough’s rental license status, and the tenant’s standing get priced in.
4. Title and liens.Back taxes at the Tax Claim Bureau, borough code fines, water and sewer balances, and an open estate don’t kill a deal, but clearing them costs time and money that shows up in the number.
5. Your timeline. Flexibility helps. A closing date that lets us schedule work in advance is worth real dollars to us, and we pass some of that back.

Fees you should never pay a cash buyer

No honest cash buyer in Franklin County charges the seller anything. If you hear the words processing fee or application fee, or you get an offer that shrinks at the closing table, walk away. Ask whether the buyer is closing with its own money or assigning the contract to someone else, and ask for the name of the title agency before you sign. The questions to ask are on the cash home buyers in Waynesboro PA page.

When listing beats a cash sale

If your house is in good shape and you can wait a few months, listing usually nets more, even after commissions. The cash route wins when the house needs work nobody wants to fund, when a sheriff sale or a Tax Claim Bureau upset sale puts a clock on you, or when an estate just needs to be settled. When we quote a cash price for your house anywhere in Franklin County, we put the listing math right next to it. If the listing math wins, we tell you, and it costs you nothing to find out.