About the Notice on the Door
There Is a Notice Posted. How Long Do I Have?
If it was issued for unsafe or imminently dangerous conditions, 6 days to appeal to the Board of License and Inspection Review. An ordinary Notice of Violation allows 30. Owners routinely assume the thirty day figure applies and it does not.
What Is the Difference Between Unsafe and Imminently Dangerous?
Unsafe covers a structure so damaged or structurally unsound that partial or complete collapse is possible, or that fails to provide minimum safeguards in the event of fire. Imminently dangerous is the more severe designation, covering imminent danger of failure or collapse, or a structure that has already partly fallen.
The City Sealed the Building.
That usually accompanies an unsafe designation and the cost is billed to you. It also means the file is active, which makes the appeal window and the wider timeline worth taking seriously rather than waiting out.
What If I Ignore It?
The city can order and carry out demolition and bill you for it. A residential demolition here costs upward of $30,000, and because very few owners pay, the debt attaches to the property and clears at settlement whenever it eventually sells.
Can I Sell With a Notice Outstanding?
Yes. A notice restricts occupancy and use, not ownership. It affects value because the buyer inherits the file, but it does not prevent transfer.
About What the Property Owes
I Owe Back Property Tax. Does That Stop a Sale?
No. It clears at settlement from the proceeds. What it changes is your net, so establishing the total before you take offers matters more than negotiating hard on the headline price.
What Else Clears at Settlement?
Water and sewer charges, code violation fines, and the cost of any sealing or emergency work the city carried out. All of it comes off your side unless the contract says otherwise.
How Do I Find out the Total?
Pull the tax account, the water account and the L&I violation history. All three are public and every serious buyer will look at them. It takes an afternoon.
About the Building
The Brick Is Standing but the Inside Is Gone.
Usually the best outcome available in this city. A sound shell removes the structural rebuild and avoids a party wall demolition. Get a licensed engineer to confirm the brick before accepting a figure priced as a teardown.
Why Does Everyone Ask If I Am End-Of-Row?
Because it halves the hardest part of any clearance. An end unit exposes one party wall; a mid-block house exposes two, both carrying a neighbour's floors and roof. It moves the figure more than the extent of the fire usually does.
The Houses Either Side Are Already Gone.
Then your property may be effectively detached, which makes clearance substantially cheaper. Tell every buyer, because it raises the figure and not all of them will have checked.
My Neighbour's House Was Damaged Too.
Party wall damage generates claims in both directions and affects what either owner can do. Establish it early rather than letting a buyer find it.
Should I Board It Up?
Securing a building slows deterioration and demonstrates action on an open file, so it usually pays for itself while you decide. Clearing it does not, because that is a specialist attached-property job a buyer prices at wholesale.
About the Sale
What Is the Transfer Tax?
3.578% city plus 1% Commonwealth, a combined 4.578% of the sale price plus assumed debt. The city portion rose from 3.278% on 1 July 2025, so most calculators and articles still quote the old combined figure of 4.278%.
Who Pays It?
Customarily split evenly, but that is convention rather than law and the contract governs. The city can collect the whole amount from either party, so put the allocation in writing. Payment is due within 30 days after the deed reaches the Department of Records.
Do I Have to Complete a Disclosure Statement?
Yes. Pennsylvania requires a written seller disclosure on most residential sales and the form asks about fire damage directly. Selling as-is does not remove the obligation.
Can I Sell With an Open Insurance Claim?
Yes. Who keeps the proceeds is a negotiated term rather than a legal barrier. Tell any buyer at the outset; one who suggests concealing it from your carrier is telling you something useful.
What Does It Cost Me to Get a Figure?
Nothing. No fee, no commission, no obligation if you decline.
About the Claim and the Paperwork
My Insurer Is Stalling.
Document everything with dates and take advice. Pennsylvania has a statutory bad faith remedy allowing interest, punitive damages and attorney's fees where an insurer denies or delays without a reasonable basis, which gives a well-evidenced complaint real weight.
The Owner on the Deed Has Died.
The estate has to be able to convey. It is the most common cause of delay here, and it runs alongside a city file that does not pause while probate proceeds.
I Live out of State.
Common on inherited property. Remote settlement through the title company is routine.
Several Family Members Are on the Deed.
Every owner of record has to sign. Where co-owners disagree that is a legal question rather than a pricing one, and worth resolving before soliciting offers.
If your question is specific to your property — and the good ones usually are — send the address. The answer often turns on the city file and your position in the row, and our service area index sets out what changes between neighbourhoods.