How to Sell a Greater Philadelphia or South Jersey House From Out of State

Can you sell a house without being there?

Yes. Most of a sale happens by phone, email and courier. The one step that needs you in person, signing the deed in front of a notary, can happen where you live. There are three ways to do it:

• A mail-away closing. The title company ships you the documents, you sign them before a local notary, and you send them back.
• Remote online notarization. You sign on a live video call with a notary located in Pennsylvania or New Jersey.
• A power of attorney. Someone you trust signs for you.

Someone may still need to open the door for a walk-through or a town inspection, such as a suburban use and occupancy (U&O) inspection or New Jersey's smoke alarm check. Line up a relative, a neighbor or an agent early.

How does a mail-away closing work?

A title company or settlement attorney runs the closing. Tell them on day one that you live out of state and want to sign by mail.

1. Sign the agreement of sale. You can usually sign and return it from home.
2. Let the title company do its part. It searches the title, orders payoff figures for your mortgage and any liens, and lines up local paperwork. In Philadelphia that includes the Property Sales Certification, which can be ordered online through eCLIPSE ($139, about five business days).
3. Review the signing package. Expect the deed, a settlement statement, an affidavit about liens and title, information for the IRS Form 1099-S report, and a statement that you are not a foreign person under FIRPTA (more below). Read it all before you sign.
4. Sign in front of a notary where you live. Pennsylvania gives a notarial act done by another state's notary the same effect as one done in Pennsylvania, and New Jersey law says the same. Philadelphia's Department of Records requires a complete notary acknowledgment, so make sure the notary fills in every line. Sign the deed only in front of the notary.
5. Send the originals back. Use the courier label or envelope the title company provides, with tracking.
6. Get paid. At closing, the title company pays off your mortgage and any liens from the sale money and sends you the rest, usually by wire.

In the military or living overseas? Pennsylvania also honors notarial acts by authorized military personnel and by U.S. State Department notarizing officers abroad.

Can I sign with a remote online notary?

Often, yes. Both states allow it, but the title company and its insurer decide whether they will close a deed that way, so ask at the start.

• Pennsylvania. Act 97 of 2020 made remote online notarization a permanent part of Pennsylvania law. A notary located in Pennsylvania can notarize for you over live audio and video after confirming who you are, for example with two different identity-proofing methods. The notary must notify the Department of State first, use approved technology and keep a recording of the session for at least 10 years.
• New Jersey. P.L.2021, c.179 lets a notary located in New Jersey notarize for someone who is not in the state, with similar identity checks and a recording kept for at least 10 years.
• Outside the United States. Both laws allow it if the document involves property in the United States and signing is not prohibited where you are.

Should someone sign for me with a power of attorney?

It can work well, if the document is done right and the title company accepts it. Choose your agent carefully. The notice Pennsylvania requires at the top of the form warns that the agent may be able to sell your property without asking you first.

Pennsylvania (20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 56)

A power of attorney signed today needs:

• A date and your signature.
• A notary's acknowledgment, from a notary who is not your agent, and two witnesses age 18 or older who are not your agent or the notary.
• The required notice, in capital letters at the beginning, signed by you.
• Your agent's signed acknowledgment of their duties, attached before they act.
• Authority over real estate, such as the power "to engage in real property transactions," which covers selling your home.

The title company can ask your agent for a signed certification or affidavit that the power is still in effect. Pennsylvania law says an acknowledged power of attorney may be recorded in the county where the property is. It does not say it must be. Ask the title company whether it wants it recorded with the deed, and whether it needs the original.

New Jersey

New Jersey's Revised Durable Power of Attorney Act requires the power to be in writing, signed and acknowledged, which usually means notarized. Ask the title company or a New Jersey attorney whether it must be recorded with the deed.

Limits

A power of attorney cannot be used to sell after the owner dies; the estate's executor or administrator signs instead. In Pennsylvania, naming your spouse as your agent is revoked once either of you files for divorce, unless the document says otherwise. See selling a house during a divorce.

How do I look after an empty house from far away?

• Call your insurer now. Many homeowners policies limit or cut off some coverage once a house has been vacant for a set time. Read the vacancy clause and ask whether you need a vacant-home policy or endorsement.
• Winterize, or keep the heat on. The Philadelphia Water Department says to drain and winterize the plumbing if you own a property that is vacant during cold weather, and that all pipes inside and outside the home, up to the water main, are the owner's responsibility.
• Get the vacant license. In Philadelphia, an unoccupied house needs a Vacant Residential Property License unless it is being renovated. It costs $202 and is renewed every year through eCLIPSE. You need a Commercial Activity License or an Activity License Number first, and you must be current on City taxes to renew.
• Keep it secure. On blocks that are at least 80% occupied, the City's 311 guidance says a vacant building needs real doors and windows, not plywood. If a vacant house is left open, L&I can clean and seal it and bill you, and a bill unpaid for 30 days can become a lien. Our guide to L&I violations explains the rest.
• Watch your deed. Philadelphia's Deed Fraud Guard is free for property owners and emails you when a document is recorded with your name on it.
• Keep someone local. Ask a neighbor or relative to check the house and call you after storms. Make sure tax bills and City notices reach you. Philadelphia's 311 line from outside the city is (215) 686-8686.

What taxes come up when you sell from another state?

Federal rules apply wherever you live, and each state has its own. Take this list to your tax preparer.

If you rented the house out after moving, you cannot exclude the part of the gain equal to the depreciation you took, or could have taken, after May 6, 1997. And if you receive a Form 1099-S, the IRS says to report the sale on Form 8949 even if none of the gain is taxable. For the New Jersey forms, you count as a resident only if you keep a permanent home in New Jersey on or after the closing date.

What if the house is a rental, or you inherited it?

A rental

Start with our guide to selling a house with tenants, which covers leases, notices and security deposits in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. If you keep renting while you sell, L&I requires an owner who lives outside Philadelphia to name a managing agent with a Philadelphia mailing address on the rental license.

An inherited house

If the house is still in the late owner's name, only the executor or administrator can sign the deed. In Pennsylvania, a personal representative generally must post a bond before letters are granted. A nonresident named in the will is generally excused only if the will waives the bond, or if they serve alongside a Pennsylvania-resident co-executor who keeps the assets. With no will, the Register of Wills may refuse letters of administration to someone who does not live in Pennsylvania. Plan for it before you set a closing date. See selling an inherited house in Philadelphia, selling an inherited house in New Jersey and selling a parent's house.

Who does what, and when?

What are your options when you live far away?

Moving for a job? Ask your employer whether its relocation package helps with selling costs before you choose.

How can Vivid help?

Vivid Properties is a local, family-owned real estate investment company in Philadelphia. We buy houses as-is in Philadelphia, in Delaware, Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, and in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties in South Jersey. See how we buy houses for each step. You can reach us by phone, text or our form from wherever you live.

We make a fair cash offer, usually within 24 hours. You do not repair or clean anything, and you pick the closing day. We pay all the closing costs, and there are no commissions and no fees from us. What still comes out of the price is only what you already owe against the house, such as a mortgage payoff, liens, or unpaid taxes and water bills. If you are a nonresident selling a New Jersey house, the state's estimated tax payment is also taken at closing unless an exemption applies. It is a prepayment of your own income tax, not a closing cost. The closing runs through a title company, so ask about signing where you live at the start. If listing would leave you better off, we will say so.

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

Frequently asked questions

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