We Buy Houses in Brookhaven and Toby Farms

Which town is my Brookhaven house in?

Look at your property tax bill. About 51 percent of the people in the 19015 ZIP code live in Brookhaven Borough, about 16 percent in Chester Township, 16 percent in Upland and 14 percent in Parkside. Each town runs its own resale inspection, and even the school district depends on the town: Brookhaven and Parkside are in the Penn-Delco School District, while Chester Township is in the Chester Upland School District.

What is Brookhaven like for sellers?

Brookhaven became a borough on April 4, 1945, and grew fast after that. The borough's own history notes that the farms and farmhouses along Edgmont Avenue turned into businesses, shopping centers and offices. Today it is mostly single homes from the post-war decades, plus apartment complexes and some townhouses, and most homes are owner-occupied. The borough had 8,300 people in the 2020 Census.

In single homes this age, the big-ticket items are usually the roof, the heater and air conditioning, older electrical panels, water in the basement and the sewer line to the street.

What does Brookhaven require before settlement?

A Use and Occupancy (U&O) certificate, which means a transfer inspection. The borough says every residence in Brookhaven is subject to inspection before it changes hands. Here is how it works:

1. Apply early. Send the Application for Residential Property Transfer Inspection as soon as possible in the sale. You can email it to [email protected] and pay online for a quicker response.
2. Get inspected. The office contacts you to schedule. The borough's Residential Property Inspection Checklist shows what they look for.
3. Get the result. Either the U&O is issued in the buyer's name, or you get a report listing violations.
4. Fix or sell as-is. The seller can make the repairs and get the certificate. If the house is sold as-is, the borough issues a one-year temporary use and occupancy certificate or a temporary access certificate, and the buyer handles the repairs.

Brookhaven also spells out its alarm rules, updated July 1, 2024: a smoke detector on each floor in a common area and in each sleeping space, a carbon monoxide detector outside the sleeping areas if the house has fuel-burning appliances or a garage, and one kitchen fire extinguisher rated at least 1A:10B:C that is within its service life. Alarms need a date of manufacture and a proper listing label, and counterfeit alarms fail.

Toby Farms: what should sellers know?

Toby Farms is a neighborhood in Chester Township, right next to Brookhaven. Many Toby Farms homes have Brookhaven 19015 mailing addresses, on streets such as Powell Road and Rainer Road, but they pay Chester Township taxes and follow Chester Township's rules. Toby Farms Intermediate School, part of the Chester Upland School District, is at 201 Bridgewater Road.

Toby Farms is mostly attached housing: rowhomes that listings often call townhouses, along with twins.

Toby Farms is one of our favorite neighborhoods to buy and renovate in. We know it especially well, and we are especially interested in buying here, whatever shape the house is in.

What does Chester Township require when you sell a Toby Farms house?

A township inspection and a sewer lateral inspection. Chester Township's Certificate of Compliance application lists an initial inspection fee of $250 and a re-inspection fee of $100, which match the U&O fees in the township's fee schedule. The form asks sellers for the date of their lateral inspection.

That second inspection comes from the township's sewer lateral ordinance. No owner may transfer a property in Chester Township without first having the sewer lateral, the pipe from the house to the township sewer, inspected by one of three agents the township has approved. The inspection includes a camera run through the pipe, and the video report goes to the township before it issues its inspection report for the U&O. Defects that could let rainwater or groundwater into the sewer, or sewage out, get written up.

The same ordinance follows state law on what happens next. A clean inspection gets a certificate. Violations get a temporary use and occupancy certificate. A violation that makes the house unfit to live in gets a temporary access certificate, so the buyer can repair before anyone moves in. The buyer then has 12 months to bring the house into compliance, and a buyer who does not can face fines of $1,000 to $10,000.

Can I sell as-is if my house fails?

Yes. Pennsylvania's Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act, as changed by Act 133 of 2016, is why both Brookhaven and Chester Township issue temporary certificates instead of stopping a sale. The town also cannot require an escrow or a bond to issue the certificate. In an as-is sale to us, the inspection report and the lateral report become our repair list after closing, not yours before it. Our guide to selling a house as-is explains more.

Will a cash offer be less than listing?

Usually, yes, compared with what the same house would bring fully renovated. A cash, as-is offer has to cover the repairs, the risk of problems we cannot see yet, the months of taxes, insurance and utilities while we renovate, and the cost of reselling. You save the repair bills, the showings, the agent commission and any fees, because we charge none, and you pick the day you close. We pay all the closing costs, and your written offer shows exactly what you walk away with before you sign.

If your Brookhaven single is in great shape, listing it may well net you more, and we will tell you that. See how we calculate our offer and our side-by-side comparison.

Where are probate and sheriff sales handled?

In Media. Estates are opened with the Delaware County, PA Register of Wills at the Government Center, 201 W. Front Street, and sheriff sales are held there on the third Friday of each month at 11 a.m. Our Delaware County, PA page has the details.

Who sells to us in Brookhaven and Toby Farms?

A few situations come up again and again. Heirs who live out of state need someone to handle an empty house; our Pennsylvania inherited house guide covers the estate steps. Landlords with a rental are ready to stop, sometimes with tenants still in place, which our guide on selling a house with tenants covers. And owners downsizing from a single home do not want to fix it up first.

How does selling to us work here?

1. Get in touch. Call or text (267) 551-5554, or send the form. A real local person answers.
2. Walk us through. We see the house as it is. Do not clean or fix anything.
3. Read your written offer, usually within 24 hours. No pressure.
4. Choose your closing day. We plan around Brookhaven's inspection or Chester Township's lateral and U&O inspections.

Get my cash offer Text or call (267) 551-5554

What nearby areas do we also buy in?

Questions Brookhaven sellers ask

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your situation, talk to a Pennsylvania attorney or tax professional.