Pennsylvania’s home-buying process follows the familiar sequence — offer, inspection, financing, title, closing — but two things about it genuinely reflect the state’s own history: closings can be run by either an attorney or a title company depending on the deal, and in a meaningful stretch of the state, what’s underneath the property (coal, oil, gas, other minerals) may legally belong to someone else entirely.
Attorneys and title companies both close Pennsylvania sales
Pennsylvania doesn’t require an attorney at closing the way some neighboring states do, but it’s also not a pure title-company state the way Florida or Arizona are. Licensed title agents routinely handle straightforward residential closings on their own — searching title, preparing the settlement statement, and coordinating signing and disbursement. But attorneys handle a meaningful share of Pennsylvania closings directly too, and only an attorney can give you actual legal advice if something in the transaction gets complicated. Which one you end up with often comes down to who you or your agent picks, more than any state requirement — worth asking upfront which kind of firm is handling your specific closing.
Where the records live: Assessment Office and Recorder of Deeds
Property is valued by each county’s Assessment Office, and deeds are recorded with the county Recorder of Deeds — except in Philadelphia, a consolidated city-county where those functions run through the Office of Property Assessment and the Department of Records instead. RefPages’ county-by-county directory doesn’t yet cover Pennsylvania, but the State Government directory is a starting point for tracking down your specific county’s assessment and recording office.
The realty transfer tax is two taxes stacked together
Pennsylvania’s realty transfer tax has a state component and a local one. The state charges a flat 1% of the property’s value. On top of that, nearly every municipality and school district levies its own local realty transfer tax — commonly another 1% in most of the state, bringing the typical combined rate to about 2%. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the two well-known exceptions: Philadelphia’s local rate increased to 3.578% effective July 1, 2025, bringing its combined rate (with the 1% state share) to 4.578%, and Pittsburgh’s local rate is 4%, for a combined 5%. State law makes buyer and seller jointly and severally liable for the tax, but the near-universal custom is to split it 50/50 in the purchase contract, with the county Recorder of Deeds collecting it at the time the deed is recorded. Because both the local rate and the customary split can vary by municipality and by contract, confirm the current numbers for your specific township or city before closing.
What sellers have to tell you
Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law (68 Pa.C.S. § 7301 et seq.) requires sellers of residential property — generally one to four units — to complete a written property disclosure statement and deliver it to the buyer before an agreement of sale is signed. The duty is limited to material defects the seller actually knows about; the law doesn’t obligate a seller to hire an inspector or investigate conditions they’re genuinely unaware of. A seller who knowingly omits or misrepresents something on the form can be liable for the buyer’s actual damages, and a buyer has two years from final settlement to bring that kind of claim.
Coal, oil, and gas: check whether you’re buying the surface only
In parts of western and southwestern Pennsylvania — the state’s historic bituminous coal fields — it’s genuinely common for the coal estate to have been severed from the surface estate, sometimes over a century ago, meaning the property’s surface and the minerals beneath it belong to different owners. Where that’s true, or where coal is being severed as part of the current sale, Pennsylvania law requires the deed to carry a conspicuous coal notice disclosing it. Oil, gas, and other mineral rights can be severed the same way, and the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors maintains a standard Oil, Gas and/or Mineral Rights Disclosure form for exactly this reason. None of this shows up reliably on the general seller disclosure form — it’s a question of deed and title history, which is exactly what your title search is for. If you’re buying anywhere in the historic coal regions, or anywhere with active oil and gas leasing nearby, ask directly whether the mineral estate is included in your purchase rather than assuming it is.
If work is needed before or after closing
If an inspection turns up something that needs a permit, RefPages’ Building Permit Departments directory links to the relevant city, township, or county permitting office.