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Philadelphia suburbs · PennsylvaniaFrom West Chester to Coatesville: what changes locally, what does not, and how to find out in fifteen minutes what you actually qualify for.
Chester County, with its county seat in West Chester, takes in West Chester, Exton, Kennett Square, Phoenixville, Downingtown, Malvern and Coatesville. Stellar lends across all of Pennsylvania, and Chester County files are handled from our Southampton, PA office by a licensed officer you can reach directly.
The 2026 baseline conforming limit is $832,750 nationally, and that is the figure that applies in Chester County. Loans above it are jumbo, which means tighter reserves and different pricing.
Chester County has two housing markets that happen to share a courthouse in West Chester. The eastern and northern townships along Route 30 and Route 202, including Malvern, Paoli, Berwyn, Exton, Downingtown, Phoenixville and West Chester borough, carry some of the highest household incomes in Pennsylvania, and loan amounts there regularly reach or exceed the conforming baseline. Our officers check the number against the limit on the first call so a purchase that needs jumbo financing is structured that way from the start.
South and west of that corridor the county becomes Brandywine Valley farmland: Kennett Square, Unionville, Oxford, Cochranville and Honey Brook, with Coatesville and Parkesburg along the Route 30 rail line as the county's most affordable towns. Many of those properties are on private wells and septic systems, some carry acreage or agricultural use that an appraiser has to treat carefully, and a meaningful number of addresses in the southern and western townships are inside USDA's eligible area, which opens $0-down financing for buyers who qualify.
Chester County files are handled from our Southampton office in Bucks County, a licensed Pennsylvania officer on every one, with PHFA assistance available for buyers inside the agency's limits. Closings run through title companies, and property taxes vary by school district from Tredyffrin-Easttown to Octorara, so we build the payment from the actual tax record on the house.
In Pennsylvania, closings are typically handled by a title company. Transfer tax is customarily split between buyer and seller, property taxes are paid to the county, municipality, and school district, and older housing stock can bring lead-paint, knob-and-tube, or well-and-septic questions into the appraisal.
FHA limits are set by HUD county by county, and PHFA income and purchase price caps change periodically. We check the current figures for Chester County on every file rather than quoting from memory. Official source: PHFA. VA and USDA $0-down loans are available where the borrower and property qualify; USDA eligibility is address-specific, so we check the property on the USDA map before assuming either way.
Yes. Stellar Mortgage Corporation is licensed in Pennsylvania and lends in all 67 counties, including Chester County. Our head office is in Southampton, Bucks County, and every file is handled by a licensed loan officer with a direct line.
For 2026 the one-unit conforming limit in Chester County is $832,750, the FHFA baseline. Loans above that are jumbo, which brings tighter reserve and credit requirements. FHA limits are set separately by HUD and are usually lower; we check both for the property address before quoting.
PHFA, the state housing agency, offers first mortgages paired with down payment and closing cost assistance for eligible Pennsylvania buyers, and Stellar is an approved PHFA lender. Income and purchase price limits are set by county and change periodically, so we confirm the current Chester County figures on your file rather than quoting them here. Some counties and municipalities run their own programs as well; ask your officer what is funded right now.
Once we have your application, credit, and the documents on our checklist, most buyers have a letter within one to two business days. If you have already found a home in West Chester or anywhere else in Chester County and are writing an offer, tell us on the form and we prioritize the file.
Conforming limit shown is the 2026 FHFA figure for Chester County. FHA limits and state agency caps are set by HUD and PHFA and change periodically. Verify on the official source. Not a commitment to lend.
Three quick steps, about a minute. No Social Security number, no pay stubs. A licensed officer from our Southampton office calls you back, usually the same business day.
Ready to see what you qualify for?