Allegheny County, Washington County and all of southwestern Pennsylvania
This guide is for buyers and sellers in Allegheny County, Washington County and all of southwestern Pennsylvania, who are handling a home sale without an agent, including family and neighbor deals, or who want their own lawyer on one side.
The pages here are general information. They are not advice for your contract, and using them does not make you a client.
Deborah A. Schwab, Esq., Confluence Counsel, LLC, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
The price, the deadlines, and the terms that belong in the signed contract.
The seller disclosure, and the lead-paint papers for a home built before 1978.
Inspection, financing, and the other conditions that can pause a deal.
What a title search covers, and how title insurance differs from a lawyer's review.
Pennsylvania's state tax and the local municipal and school add-on.
The path from a signed agreement to the closing table.
The guide is general information. These are matters Attorney Deborah Schwab takes for clients in Allegheny County, Washington County and all of southwestern Pennsylvania. Asking about one of them does not make you a client.
Agreement of sale review and negotiation for buyers and sellers, including agent-free deals and deeds between family members.
Commercial contracts, leases, investment property papers, assessment appeals, and help with title defects and lien issues.
Ongoing contract support for businesses and real estate investors, on a flexible or monthly basis.
A public guide for owners in Allegheny County, Washington County and all of southwestern Pennsylvania who want to sell without an agent. It covers the license rule, the seller disclosure, realty transfer tax, and where a lawyer fits. No email is required to read it.
Read the guideBuying or selling a home without a real estate agent in Allegheny County, Washington County and all of southwestern Pennsylvania puts the agreement of sale, disclosures, contingencies, and closing details in your hands. This free guide from Confluence Counsel, written by Pennsylvania attorney Deborah A. Schwab, walks through title, transfer tax, and settlement so you know what to expect and where to slow down. Request your copy below.
Request your copyThe intake form is a request. Representation starts only if Attorney Deborah Schwab agrees.
Pennsylvania's state realty transfer tax is 1% of the value of the real estate. Local municipal and school taxes are added and vary by place. Open the transfer tax calculator.
Common level ratio factors for documents accepted July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 2.03, and Washington County, Pennsylvania, 1.47. Checked October 21, 2026 against the Department of Revenue list. The Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, transfer-tax page still showed 1.99 on that date. This site uses the Revenue figures.
State realty transfer tax: Article XI-C of the Tax Reform Code of 1971, 72 P.S. § 8101-C et seq.. Local realty transfer tax: Article XI-D of the Tax Reform Code, 72 P.S. § 8101-D et seq. (local tax authorized by Section 1102-D, 72 P.S. § 8102-D), and the Local Tax Enabling Act, 53 P.S. § 6924.101 et seq.. The higher-of reading for a below-value sale, price or assessed value times the common level ratio factor, is still an unverified application of 61 Pa. Code Chapter 91.
Estimate state and local realty transfer tax for Allegheny and Washington Counties, Pennsylvania. Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, municipal and school rates are loaded from the county table. Towns in Washington County, Pennsylvania, use an owner-provided local rate of 1 percent, except Peters Township at 1.5 percent local. Those Washington County, Pennsylvania, figures other than Peters Township are not verified. No email is required.
Use the calculatorPennsylvania does not require a lawyer for a typical home sale. Many people still want one person whose only job is their side of the contract, especially when no agent is in the deal. A title company can close the file. It does not represent you as your lawyer.
The state tax is 1 percent of the value of the real estate. Local municipal and school taxes are added on top, and they are not the same in every town. The state holds both sides responsible for the state tax. Who actually brings the money is a term in the agreement. A 50/50 split is common, and the parties can negotiate something else.
Counties assess homes using a ratio that is often below today's sale prices. The Department of Revenue publishes a factor so transfer tax can be measured when a price is not an arm's length price. For documents accepted from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, the factor is 2.03 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and 1.47 in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Those figures change. The calculator shows the date they were checked.
Sellers of most residential property complete Pennsylvania's seller property disclosure for material defects they know about. Homes built before 1978 also need the federal lead-based paint disclosure. Some transfers are exempt from the state form. A sale to a relative is not automatically one of those exemptions.
The agreement of sale should say so. Inspection and financing clauses often return the deposit to the buyer when the buyer cancels on time and in the way the contract requires. A missed deadline can change the result. If the sides disagree, the holder usually keeps the money until both sides sign a release or a court decides.
No. The guides, the calculator, and the guide form are general information. Please do not send confidential facts through the guide form. An attorney-client relationship starts only after Attorney Deborah Schwab agrees to represent you and confirms that engagement.
It can show the higher of the price and a computed value, which is the assessed value times the county factor. It does not decide whether a family exemption removes the tax. Read the note on the calculator before you rely on a number.
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Deborah A. Schwab, Esq.
Confluence Counsel, LLC
2400 Ansys Drive
Suite 102 - #17783158
Canonsburg, PA 15317
(412) 537-9101
Debbie.schwab@confluencecounsel.law
Attorney advertising. Confluence Counsel, LLC, Deborah A. Schwab, Esq., Canonsburg, PA. This site and its tools and guides provide general information, not legal advice. Using them does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.