Chalfont, New Britain Borough, and New Britain Township share a zip code, a train line, and Central Bucks schools, and run three different resale processes. Chalfont scopes the sewer lateral. New Britain Borough adopted its ordinance in July 2024 and asks about septic and sprinklers. The township wants two weeks notice and a $10 deed registration. The parcel, not the mailing address, decides which desk you visit.
The corridor picture
This is the affordable door into Central Bucks: borough blocks within walking distance of two regional rail stations, township cul-de-sacs from the 1970s through the 1990s, and Delaware Valley University at the north end. Demand tracks the school district, which is to say it does not take years off.
Chalfont: the lateral ordinance
Chalfont’s $75 inspection covers the usual life-safety list, detectors on every story, handrails over four risers, relief valve piped to the floor, and adds the item that matters most in an older borough: a sewer lateral inspection under Ordinance 474. A camera run in listing week turns the one expensive unknown into a line item you control before a buyer prices it for you.
New Britain Borough: the 2024 ordinance
- Septic needs recent paper. On-site systems require a certified inspection report dated within two years of the application; ordering it early keeps the certificate off the critical path.
- Sprinklers need a specialist. Residential fire sprinkler systems must be inspected and certified to NFPA 13D and 25 by a contractor from the borough’s approved list.
- Decks have a 1990 line. Any deck built since then should have a permit; unpermitted structures must be permitted or removed, so reconcile the file before the inspector reads it.
New Britain Township: the established process
The township charges $75 with a $40 reinspection, wants the call at least two weeks before settlement, and registers the deed for $10. Two local signatures: six-inch house numbers when the home sits within fifty feet of the road, and monitored alarm systems certified by the alarm company on the township’s form. Agents may apply in the seller’s place, and nobody settles without the certificate.
The Pennsylvania money
All three municipalities sit at the standard 2% total realty transfer tax, customarily split, so the seller’s half on a $500,000 sale is $5,000. Pennsylvania withholds nothing at settlement, and the federal exclusion, $250,000 single and $500,000 married, covers most owner-occupants. The home-sale tax guide and the cost-to-sell guide carry the detail.
Getting started
The corridor order: a free valuation, the municipality confirmed against the parcel, the lateral or septic paperwork ordered in listing week, and the inspection scheduled on the right clock. Up the road, the Doylestown guide covers the county seat, the Warrington guide the next township south, and the Bucks County downsizing guide maps where sellers here land next.