Transaction Coordination · Pennsylvania

Transaction Coordinator in Luzerne County, PA.

Precision Leverage Solutions coordinates real estate transactions in Luzerne County for Keller Williams agents, from ratified contract through settlement. Realty transfer tax here is 2.0% in most municipalities, up to 3.5%, deeds record through the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds, and we handle the county and municipal steps that decide whether your file closes on time. Billed per file, no retainer.

Luzerne CountyEvery Pennsylvania county covered

At a glanceLuzerne County, PA

Transfer tax2.0–3.5%varies: 2.0% in most municipalities, up to 3.5%

Recording fee$87.75for a deed

PLS, per file$400contract to close, billed per file with no retainer

Figures from the sections below. Confirm with the issuing office before relying on one for a live file.

What we handle on a Luzerne County file

Luzerne County has 76 municipalities, and the county's own zoning office administers zoning for only 19 of them, so almost every file turns on what the individual city, borough, or township wants before closing. Wilkes-Barre is the hard stop: the City requires a pre-sale inspection and a sales certificate that has to be filed with the deed at the Recorder of Deeds. Hazleton, Kingston, and Hanover Township each run their own occupancy inspection tied to a sale, and the transfer tax is not uniform: the Recorder of Deeds collects 3.5% in Wilkes-Barre and Pittston City and 2.5% in Kingston against 2% elsewhere. Every document also needs a PIN certification from the Assessor before the Recorder will take it. Once your deal is ratified, PLS builds and manages the file in KW Command, tracks every deadline and contingency, routes documents for signature, and coordinates with lender, title, attorneys, and the co-op agent. See the full transaction coordination service for the complete scope, and the Pennsylvania overview for statewide notes.

On every Luzerne County fileFrom ratified contract through settlement

KW Command fileBuilds and manages the file in KW Command.
Every deadlineTracks every deadline and contingency.
SignaturesRoutes documents for signature.
Every partyCoordinates with lender, title, attorneys, and the co-op agent.

Realty transfer tax in Luzerne County: 2.0% in most municipalities, up to 3.5%

The Recorder of Deeds fee schedule effective July 1, 2026 states that all municipalities are 2% except Wilkes-Barre City at 3.5%, Kingston Borough at 2.5%, and Pittston City at 3.5%, and the Recorder's FAQ page gives the same three totals. The standard 2% is 1% to the Commonwealth plus a 1% local tax that the Recorder describes as 0.5% to the municipality and 0.5% to the school district. Wilkes-Barre is consistent across all three sources: section 28-211 of the City code levies 2.5%, and the DCED 2026 tax register lists 2.0% for the City and 0.5% for the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. Kingston is consistent too: section 161-1 imposes 1.5%, with two thirds paid to the Municipality and one third to the Wyoming Valley West School District, which matches the 1.0% and 0.5% on the DCED register. Pittston City is not fully settled. Section 436-19 (last amended by Ord. No. 13-2025) sets 2.50% for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2026 and the Recorder's schedule states that the Pittston City realty transfer tax is now a total of 3.5%, but the DCED register lists 2.5% for the City plus 0.5% for the Pittston Area School District, which would add up to 4.0%, so confirm a Pittston City figure with the Recorder at 570-825-1641 before the settlement statement goes out. Hazleton has the same kind of gap: section 490-38 imposes a 1% City tax and the Recorder's schedule states that the Hazleton City transfer tax is now a total of 2%, while the DCED register lists 1.0% for the City plus 0.5% for the Hazleton Area School District, which would add up to 2.5%, so confirm a Hazleton figure with the Recorder at 570-825-1641 as well. A deed or lease covering property in more than one municipality must state the proportional share of the local tax in the document. Where a Statement of Value (REV-183) is needed, the Recorder requires one original and one copy, fully completed with school district, assessed value, and common level ratio, and each page of it is charged as a recorded page at $2.00.

Total transfer taxState plus local, by where the property sits

Most municipalities2%
Highest rate in the county3.5%

Figures from this section. Confirm the municipality before quoting a rate.

Recording a deed in Luzerne County

The Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds sits at Courthouse Annex, 153 North River Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711, 570-825-1641. The current recording fee is $87.75 for a deed, on the schedule effective July 1, 2026, which includes the new $15.00 county demolition fee. The base fee covers up to four pages, four names, and one PIN. Additional pages are $2.00 each, names over four are $0.50 each, and each additional PIN is $0.50 on the Recorder's side. Recording hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:20 p.m., with searching until 4:30 p.m., and a Hazleton office is open Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The office takes no cash; it accepts money orders, cashier's checks, personal and business checks, and credit cards. It will not accept more than 10 documents per check and does not issue refunds, so an overage is either forfeited or the check is swapped for a new one. A document rejected by mail costs $10.00 each time and a rejected e-recording costs $5.00. E-recording runs through CSC, ePN, and Simplifile for everything except notary commissions and subdivision maps. The mailing address is 200 North River Street, and a self-addressed stamped envelope is required for returns. The Recorder's page states that the fee for deeds, exempt deeds, and mortgages increased by $15.00 on July 1, 2026 with the creation of the Luzerne County Demolition Fund, and that the online fee calculator has not been updated for it, so work from the published schedule.

Recording officeWhere the deed goes

OfficeLuzerne County Recorder of Deeds
AddressCourthouse Annex, 153 North River Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711
Phone570-825-1641
Deed recording fee$87.75 for a deed, on the schedule effective July 1, 2026, which includes the new $15.00 county demolition fee

A PIN certification is required on every document before it is submitted for recording, with the exception of notary commissions, general powers of attorney, and financing statements that list no real estate. The Luzerne County Assessor's Office stamps and signs the property identification number on the document under the county's uniform parcel identifier ordinance (Ordinance 22 of 1993), and the Recorder's fee page lists that fee as $20.00 per PIN by check payable to the Luzerne County Treasurer. Ask the Assessor to certify in the top margin, because the Recorder needs a 2.5 inch bottom margin on at least two pages for its stamps. The Assessor's PIN line is 570-825-1525. Every deed, mortgage, and assignment also needs a signed certificate of residence with the grantee's precise address, the transfer tax or a Statement of Value must accompany the deed, multiple documents in one transaction must be numbered in recording order, and white-out is not permitted.

Recording fees and transfer tax rates for every county we coordinate in are collected side by side on our recording fee and transfer tax reference.

What actually holds up a closing here

Wilkes-Barre sales certificate has to be filed with the deed

Chapter 7, Article VIII of the Wilkes-Barre code (Ord. No. 17-2013) requires anyone listing or offering a residential or commercial property for sale to have it inspected by a City code enforcement officer before the sale, and the current owner makes the application. The officer then issues a sales certificate, which sections 7-271 and 7-275 say must be filed with the deed at the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds, and section 7-280 states that no deed shall be recorded until the inspection is completed or found exempt. The inspection covers smoke detectors in every bedroom, outside the bedrooms, on each floor, and in the basement and attic, plus GFI receptacles in the kitchen and bath, continuous stair handrails, electric or central heat rather than space heaters, and covered electrical boxes. If the property fails, section 7-275 allows the sale only with a written waiver signed by the buyer on the sales certificate, and nobody may occupy until a re-inspection passes. Section 7-277 sets the fee at $90 for a residential building plus $25 for each additional unit, $125 for a commercial unit under 6,000 square feet, and $250 above that, with any mixed-use property treated as commercial. The City's Code Enforcement page, which calls this the Buyer Notification Inspection, quotes $90.00 per unit instead, so on a multi-unit building confirm the amount with Code Enforcement before you write the check. Transfers where grantor and grantee are the same person and tax, sheriff, and free and clear sales arising from a foreclosure are not treated as sales. Payment is by check or money order to Code Enforcement, 1st Floor, City Hall, 40 East Market Street, and the fine under section 7-280 is $1,000.

Hazleton certificate of use and occupancy on every change of ownership

Hazleton's Chapter 166, Article I (Ord. No. 2004-33, amended by Ord. No. 2022-5) provides in section 166-2B that no building changing ownership may be occupied or used without the current owner first securing a certificate of use and occupancy from the Code Enforcement Officer. Where occupancy does not change after the transfer, the same section gives the new owner 30 days from the date of settlement to obtain it. Section 166-3 lists what the inspection looks at: smoke detectors, stairway guardrails, open electric, hot water, heat and sewer, broken glass and windows, deck and stair handrails, a second means of egress, rain gutters, and general health and safety. The certificate stays valid until the property is next transferred or sold or a later inspection finds a violation. Section 166-10 bars an owner who has been served a notice of violation from selling until it is complied with or a true copy is furnished to the buyer, and it allows a new owner to sign a repair agreement with the City. The penalty section, 166-11, reaches well beyond the parties: it names any seller, purchaser, broker, real estate agent, title company, or closing company. Section 166-4 sets the fee per dwelling or commercial unit by reference to the City Fee Schedule adopted by council resolution, so the amount is not printed in the code; get the current figure from Code Enforcement when you order the inspection.

Kingston conveyancing inspection starts when the property is listed

Kingston's Chapter 62 (Ord. No. 2016-8, amended by Ord. No. 2018-2) puts the duty on the owner or agent to notify the Municipal Code Enforcement Officer and file an inspection request when a dwelling or building is listed, advertised, or offered for sale. The officer inspects for property maintenance and zoning violations and issues or denies a certificate of occupancy, which is delivered to the purchaser at closing. If the seller side never orders it, section 62-3C shifts the obligation to the purchaser. The fee under section 62-11 is $50 for a residential structure, $150 for a commercial building under 6,000 square feet, and $200 above that. An inspection is good for six months and can be extended by endorsement for up to two additional three-month periods. Demolitions under permit, foreclosure and judicial sales, gifts within a family, estate transfers, and new unoccupied buildings are excepted. This is the Municipality of Kingston, not Kingston Township, which is a separate municipality in the Dallas School District.

Hanover Township and Plains Township both inspect before a new owner moves in

Hanover Township's Chapter 411 (Ord. No. 023-2006, amended in its entirety by Ord. No. 003-2013) requires the owner or agent to notify the Code Enforcement Officer on listing, advertising, or offering a structure for sale, or on any intended change of occupancy. The officer has 10 days from that notice to inspect, and an occupancy permit issues once the property meets the zoning, building, and property maintenance codes. The Township's occupancy application lists the fee as $75.00 residential and $100.00 commercial, requires heat, hot and cold water, and electricity to be on for the inspection, and states that violations must be corrected before the property is occupied; section 411-2 of the code still shows $50 per dwelling unit and $75 per commercial unit, so budget for the application figure and confirm with Township Code Enforcement at 570-825-1244. The fine under section 411-4 is up to $600, with each day and each section violated counted separately. Plains Township requires a Certificate of Zoning Compliance before any new owner or tenant occupies a residential or commercial building, at $65.00 for a residential unit and $175.00 for a commercial property.

Nanticoke use registration certificate on multi-unit and commercial sales

Nanticoke's Chapter 376 (Ord. No. 14-1998, amended by Ord. No. 16-2004) requires the owner to obtain a certificate from the Code Enforcement Officer before entering an agreement of sale, and to deliver it to the purchaser at or before signing. The chapter covers buildings other than those used exclusively for single-family or two-family occupancy and places of worship, so it bites on apartment buildings, mixed-use, and commercial property rather than the typical house. The certificate lists zoning classification, variances, pending permits, known code violations, and all municipal claims currently due, which makes it a payoff check as well as a disclosure. It is valid for up to one year or one transfer, with two three-month extensions available. The fee is set by council resolution. Every agreement of sale must state the zoning classification and whether the present use complies, and if it does not, the owner is conclusively presumed to have warranted compliance. Demolition-permit properties and foreclosure or judicial tax sales are exempt, and the fine is up to $1,000 per day.

Investor purchases: rental licensing does not ride along with the deed

Wilkes-Barre requires an occupancy license for each regulated rental unit before any rental agreement or occupancy, on a two-year term, with a $100 inspection fee per unit and $100 for a re-inspection under section 7-230. Section 7-241 requires written notice to the code enforcement officer within five days of any change in ownership. Under section 7-242, a rental inspection done within three months before settlement exempts that specific unit, but not the whole premises, from the pre-sale inspection if the paperwork is shown to the code officer. Kingston's Chapter 116 (Ord. No. 2014-6, amended by Ord. No. 2015-3) requires every rental unit to be registered and licensed, obliges a new owner to notify the Municipality within 10 days of any purchase or transfer, and charges $25 per unit if registered by April 1, $50 from April 1 through July 1, and $100 after that. Pittston City's Chapter 248 runs residential rental certificates on a two-year cycle and requires a new certificate when a unit has been vacant more than six months; a designated property manager must live within 20 miles of the City. The Pittston Code Enforcement office is at 570-654-0513, extension 3221.

Pricing

Transaction coordination in Pennsylvania is billed per file, not as a monthly retainer. Contract to close is $400 per transaction, and the full rate card including dual agency, transaction licensee, unrepresented party (FSBO or URB), and listing management is published on our pricing page. No fixed overhead, no minimum volume.

Contract to close$400per transaction, billed per file

Listing management$150per listing, from the published rate card

Retainer$0no fixed overhead, no minimum volume

Where these figures come from

The county-level figures on this page come from the official sources listed below. Municipal fees and deadlines come from each municipality's own published schedules and ordinances, which are revised more often than they are archived. We publish what we could verify and leave out what we could not. Fees and ordinances change; if you are relying on a figure here for a live file, confirm it with the issuing office, and tell us if you find a discrepancy so we can correct the page.

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FAQ

Luzerne County questions.

Do you provide transaction coordination in Luzerne County, PA?

Yes. Precision Leverage Solutions works exclusively with Keller Williams agents and coordinates transactions throughout Luzerne County and the rest of Pennsylvania, from the ratified contract through settlement. We also serve KW agents in New Jersey and Delaware. Pricing is per file with no retainer.

What is the realty transfer tax in Luzerne County?

How much does it cost to record a deed in Luzerne County?

$87.75 for a deed, on the schedule effective July 1, 2026, which includes the new $15.00 county demolition fee, through the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds. The base fee covers up to four pages, four names, and one PIN. Additional pages are $2.00 each, names over four are $0.50 each, and each additional PIN is $0.50 on the Recorder's side. Recording hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:20 p.m., with searching until 4:30 p.m., and a Hazleton office is open Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The office takes no cash; it accepts money orders, cashier's checks, personal and business checks, and credit cards. It will not accept more than 10 documents per check and does not issue refunds, so an overage is either forfeited or the check is swapped for a new one. A document rejected by mail costs $10.00 each time and a rejected e-recording costs $5.00. E-recording runs through CSC, ePN, and Simplifile for everything except notary commissions and subdivision maps. The mailing address is 200 North River Street, and a self-addressed stamped envelope is required for returns. The Recorder's page states that the fee for deeds, exempt deeds, and mortgages increased by $15.00 on July 1, 2026 with the creation of the Luzerne County Demolition Fund, and that the online fee calculator has not been updated for it, so work from the published schedule.

How much does a transaction coordinator cost in Luzerne County?

Contract-to-close coordination is $400 per transaction in Pennsylvania. Dual agency, transaction licensee service, unrepresented party coordination (FSBO or URB), multi-unit transactions, and listing management are each priced separately and published in full on our pricing page. There are no monthly fees, retainers, or minimum volume requirements.

What does the City of Wilkes-Barre require before a property can be sold?

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