For Buyers · New Jersey & Pennsylvania
A Buyer’s Guide
for South Jersey and PA
What to expect when buying a home in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, from your first conversation with a lender to closing day. Written by The JK Realty Group after 20+ years and 600+ transactions.
Getting Pre-Approved
Before You Shop
Before you look at homes, talk with a licensed lender about a mortgage pre-approval. For a pre-approval, the lender reviews your credit, income and assets. A pre-qualification uses only the figures you report yourself. A pre-approval is not a final loan approval, and it does not lock an interest rate. A rate lock is a separate step you arrange with your lender.
When you make an offer, sellers and their agents will often want to see a pre-approval letter or proof of funds, because it shows you have already worked with a lender. Your agent can recommend lenders who work in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the choice of lender is yours.
New Jersey tip: many New Jersey buyers hire a real estate attorney to review the contract and handle the closing. Ask about the fee early so it is part of your budget.
Your Priorities
and Where to Look
South Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania range from shore towns to farmland, and property taxes, commutes and prices change from town to town. Before you tour, decide what matters most: your commute, lot size, the type of home, your budget, and how long you plan to stay.
Our town pages, such as Mullica Hill, Sewell and Washington Township, describe the homes in each community and the work John and Justin have done there. Each town’s tax collector can tell you the current property tax rate for a home you are considering.
Working With
a Buyer’s Agent
Since August 1, 2024, New Jersey law has required a written brokerage services agreement between you and the brokerage firm that represents you. You and the firm sign it before the firm starts working for you, or as soon as reasonably practical after. It lists the services, says how the firm is paid, and says that pay is negotiable. In Pennsylvania, a buyer agreement that involves a fee also has to be in writing.
Your agent represents your interests in the purchase, from finding homes and advising on value to preparing and negotiating your offer and coordinating inspections and other steps through closing. How your agent is paid is set out in your written agreement. Sometimes a seller or builder offers to cover part or all of your agent’s compensation, and you and your agent agree ahead of time on how that applies to your purchase.
In New Jersey, your agent gives you a Consumer Information Statement, a state form that explains the different ways an agent can work with a buyer or seller. Your agent explains your working relationship before you talk about your finances or your reasons for buying, and gives you the written statement no later than when you sign your brokerage services agreement. In Pennsylvania, your agent gives you a Consumer Notice the first time you talk in detail about what you need.
Making
an Offer
A seller looks at more than your price. The deposit, the closing date, the inspection and mortgage terms, and any other conditions all matter. Your agent will review recent sales and similar homes for sale, and help you decide how to structure your offer.
In New Jersey, a contract that a real estate agent or broker prepares for a home with one to four units, or an empty lot for one house, includes an attorney review clause. For three business days after the signed contract is delivered to both buyer and seller, not counting weekends and legal holidays, either party’s attorney may review it and disapprove it, or suggest changes for the other side to consider. In some new construction sales an attorney prepares the contract, and that contract does not have to include the clause. Ask who prepared the agreement you are signing.
In Pennsylvania the purchase contract is called an agreement of sale, and there is no attorney review period. Buyers who want an attorney’s advice usually get it before they sign.
Inspections, Appraisal
and Title
Once your offer is accepted, the contract sets how long you have to complete inspections. A home inspector reviews the property’s condition, and depending on the home you may add tests for termites and other wood-destroying insects, radon, well water or septic. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection recommends that all homes be tested for radon.
In New Jersey, a seller working with a brokerage completes a Property Condition Disclosure Statement, which includes questions about flooding. In Pennsylvania, the seller gives you a Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement before the agreement of sale is signed. Both are worth reading alongside your inspector’s report.
If you are financing, your lender orders an appraisal to confirm the home’s value supports the loan. A title company searches the property’s title, meaning its ownership records, and issues title insurance.
Closing Day
and Your Costs
At closing you sign the final loan documents, pay your closing costs and receive the keys. The time from an accepted offer to closing depends on your loan, the inspections and the dates in your contract, and your agent will walk you through the timeline for your purchase.
Buyer closing costs in New Jersey usually include title insurance, attorney fees, recording fees, prepaid property taxes and homeowners insurance, and lender fees. New Jersey’s Graduated Percent Fee on sales over $1,000,000 is paid by the seller.
Pennsylvania adds a realty transfer tax: 1% to the state plus a local tax, commonly 1%, divided between the municipality and the school district. Philadelphia’s combined rate is 4.578%. State law makes the buyer and seller jointly responsible for the tax, and Pennsylvania agreements of sale commonly divide it equally unless the contract says otherwise.