London Grove Township surrounds West Grove in the heart of Avon Grove country, where mushroom houses and new cul-de-sacs share the same roads. Its resale rule is modest and unambiguous: a use and occupancy permit on every transfer, priced at an oddly exact $52, with an inspection that runs on the 2009 property maintenance code and a code official who reserves the right to look past the list.
The London Grove seller picture
Sellers here range from farm families to first-generation owners in the developments that filled the township’s eastern half. Buyers come for Avon Grove schools and prices the eastern county gave up years ago, and the township step is small enough that the only way it delays a settlement is by being forgotten.
The $52 process
- 01File the residential U&O application with the $52 fee, from the township’s forms page, with the settlement date on the form. The FAQ confirms every resale needs one, residential and commercial alike.
- 02Clear the utilities. Public water and sewer properties file the township’s certification form; well and septic properties schedule the buyer’s lender-required evaluations early.
- 03Host the inspection far enough ahead of settlement that any repair list gets one calm pass instead of a frantic one.
The open-ended list
The Pennsylvania money
London Grove sits at the standard 2% total realty transfer tax, customarily split, so the seller’s half on a $450,000 sale is $4,500. Pennsylvania withholds nothing at settlement, and the federal exclusion, $250,000 single, $500,000 married, covers most tenures at township price points. The home-sale tax guide and the cost-to-sell guide carry the detail.
Getting started
The London Grove order: a free valuation, the $52 application filed when the agreement of sale signs, and the house walked once with an inspector’s eye. The borough neighbors run their own processes, covered in the West Grove and Avondale guide, the Chester County downsizing guide maps the county, and the sequencing guide settles what to do first.