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PennsylvaniaOur home state. The Southampton office is here, we are licensed statewide, and we run the PHFA programs most lenders treat as an afterthought.
Keystone gold · PHFA · title company closing
Pennsylvania closings are handled by title companies rather than attorneys. In practice that usually makes scheduling easier than in New Jersey or Delaware, where an attorney has to be in the room. You can still hire one if you want, and on an unusual transaction it is worth it, but nothing requires it.
The state charges 1 percent of the purchase price, and most municipalities and school districts add roughly another 1 percent. Two percent total is the usual number. It is customarily split between buyer and seller, but customary is not the same as required, and the agreement of sale controls. Philadelphia charges considerably more than the statewide norm, which is a meaningful number on a city rowhome and catches people who budgeted for 2 percent.
Settle who is paying what before you sign the agreement of sale, not at the closing table.
For 2026 the FHFA baseline conforming limit for a one-unit property is $832,750, up from $806,500 in 2025. Loans above the applicable county limit are jumbo, with tighter reserve and credit requirements. Certain high-cost counties carry a higher limit, up to a ceiling of $1,249,125.
FHA limits are set separately by HUD and are lower than conforming in most Pennsylvania counties. We check both against the county where the property sits before quoting anything.
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency runs the state's first-time buyer programs. They are genuinely useful and genuinely underused, mostly because they carry paperwork many lenders would rather avoid. We are an approved PHFA lender and process these regularly.
Full detail on PHFA, K-FIT, and HOMEstead, including how income and purchase price limits work by county.
Older housing stock is the recurring issue here. Much of eastern Pennsylvania predates 1978, which triggers lead paint requirements on some programs. Knob-and-tube wiring is common in Philadelphia rowhomes and can affect both the appraisal and whether you can get homeowner's insurance at all. In rural counties, wells and on-lot septic bring their own inspection requirements. None of these are dealbreakers, but all of them are better known before the inspection than after.
Bucks and Montgomery counties are home. We lend actively in Philadelphia, Delaware County, Chester County, the Lehigh Valley, and across the rest of the state's 67 counties.
Programs, limits, and closing customs change. Confirm current PHFA income and purchase price limits for your county before relying on any figure here.
Reviewed by Steve Umansky, Sr. Branch Manager, NMLS #61764, at Stellar Mortgage Corporation, NMLS #2190975. Every originator on our team is individually licensed and verifiable at NMLS Consumer Access.
Figures reflect published program parameters and are subject to change. Loan limits, transfer tax rates, and agency income limits are set by third parties and revised periodically. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Loan limits and PHFA eligibility are checked against the county where the property sits.
Three quick steps, no Social Security number. A licensed officer calls you back, usually the same business day.
Ready to see what you qualify for?
