Two townships flank the Brandywine between West Chester and Downingtown, and they have traded places. East Bradford once inspected sewers at sale and stopped in 2019; East Caln still inspects, for $100, against a checklist that specifies the typeface of your mailbox numerals. Which process you get depends on which side of the creek the parcel sits.
The two-township picture
East Bradford is preserved land, Brandywine trails, and West Chester Area schools; East Caln is Downingtown Area schools and neighborhoods within reach of the borough’s restaurant row and the STEM Academy. Both draw deliberate, well-qualified buyers who inspect carefully and pay for clean files.
East Bradford: the retired inspection
The township dropped its point-of-sale sewer inspection in March 2019 and requires nothing at resale today. The 2004 on-lot septic maintenance program still stands, though, and much of the township runs on septic, so the pump-out record is the document that matters.
East Caln: the particular checklist
- Ten days, $100, two certifications. The inspection wants the request ten days before settlement, with sewer and tax certifications alongside and a $75 fee for a second visit.
- Read the details. Three-inch Gothic numerals on both sides of the mailbox, interconnected hard-wired detectors, deck flashing and sway checks, a relief pipe within four inches of the floor, and township waste containers that convey with the house.
- Close the permits. Unpermitted decks, basements, and sheds must be permitted or removed, and the township applies the NFPA chimney standards, so the fireplace file counts too.
The Pennsylvania money
Both townships sit at the standard 2% total realty transfer tax, customarily split, so the seller’s half on a $650,000 sale is $6,500. Pennsylvania withholds nothing at settlement, and the federal exclusion, $250,000 single and $500,000 married, covers most owner-occupants, though longtime East Bradford owners with large land gains should run the math. The home-sale tax guide and the cost-to-sell guide carry the detail.
Getting started
The two-township order: a free valuation, the septic or sewer paperwork pulled first in East Bradford, the inspection booked on East Caln’s ten-day clock, and the permit file reconciled before anyone else reads it. Nearby, the Downingtown guide covers the borough, the West Goshen guide the other side of West Chester, and the Chester County downsizing guide maps where sellers here land next.