Second home loans in Pennsylvania
Much of Pennsylvania's second home stock sits inside private lake and resort communities. The community, its dues and its rules matter as much as the house.
Where second home buying concentrates in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's second home demand is spread across the state, but most of it sits in four areas.
- The Pocono Mountains, across Monroe, Pike, Wayne and Carbon counties, the largest second home market in the state and a short drive from New York City and Philadelphia. Much of it is inside gated or private lake communities.
- Lake Wallenpaupack, on the Pike and Wayne county line, the state's best known lake second home market, around Hawley, Lakeville and Greentown.
- The Laurel Highlands, around Seven Springs, Hidden Valley and Ohiopyle, a ski and mountain market owned largely by Pittsburgh buyers.
- Lake Erie and Presque Isle, the Erie shoreline in the northwest corner, a summer market drawing from Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo.
- Raystown Lake and the central mountains, around Huntingdon and Bedford, a quieter water market in the middle of the state.
- State College, where second home demand is driven by football weekends and family use rather than recreation.
Those are descriptions of where the market is, not a claim about prices or returns. In the Poconos especially, the community a house sits in raises as many questions as the house does.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2023, tables B25004 and B25001.
What usually decides a Pennsylvania file
In the Poconos, the community is part of the file
A great deal of Pocono second home inventory sits inside private communities built around a lake, a golf course or a ski hill. That brings three things a lender looks at. The association dues are part of the monthly housing obligation used to calculate debt to income. The community's own rules may limit or prohibit short-term rental, which matters if anyone was counting on it. And the roads, the water system and sometimes the sewer belong to the association rather than the township, so their condition and funding are worth understanding before an offer.
None of that is a reason to avoid a community. It is a reason to ask for the dues history, the rules and any recent special assessment during the inspection period rather than after the appraisal.
On Lake Wallenpaupack, the shoreline is not yours
Lake Wallenpaupack is a hydroelectric reservoir operated by Brookfield Renewable under a federal license. Brookfield typically owns the lakebed and a strip of land along the shoreline, and docks, floats and shoreline work need its permit. A house described as lakefront may in fact sit above a strip it does not own, with water access held under a permit rather than by title.
Source: Brookfield Renewable, Lake Wallenpaupack Frequently Asked Questions, 2026.
Why a lender cares: the appraisal and the title work both depend on what the owner actually holds. Confirming the dock permit and the shoreline arrangement during the inspection period keeps it off the critical path.
The realty transfer tax is a real number
Pennsylvania charges a realty transfer tax of 1% of the value of the property to the state, and most municipalities and school districts add a local tax on top. Who pays which share is negotiated in the sale contract, but it is a cash-to-close item that buyers from other states are often not expecting.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Realty Transfer Tax.
The rental question, in the ski towns and around State College
Fannie Mae's Selling Guide says a second home cannot be subject to any agreements that give a management firm control over the occupancy
and that the borrower must keep exclusive control of the property. A Laurel Highlands condo that stays in a resort rental program after closing is an investment property purchase, and so is a State College house bought to be let on football weekends under a management agreement.
Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-1.1-01, Occupancy Types.
That is a different loan, not a worse one. The Fannie Mae Eligibility Matrix, August 2026 edition, lists 90% as the maximum loan-to-value on a one-unit second home purchase against 85% on a one-unit investment property.
Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide, Eligibility.
Wells, septic and winter access
A second home has to be suitable for year-round occupancy. Much of rural Pennsylvania runs on private wells and on-lot septic, and some older cabins sit on private roads that are not plowed by the township. Those are inspection and appraisal items, and worth settling before the offer goes in.
Which guides matter most here
For a Pennsylvania purchase, these three carry most of the weight.
Licensing in Pennsylvania
Residential Mortgage, LLC is authorized to close loans in Pennsylvania, one of the 27 states on the company's published authorization list. Bryan Piccolomini holds NMLS #228509 and Residential Mortgage, LLC holds NMLS #167729. Both can be checked independently on NMLS Consumer Access. Fuller detail is on the licensing page.
Common questions
Can Bryan lend on a second home in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Residential Mortgage, LLC is authorized to close loans in Pennsylvania, one of the 27 states on the company's authorization list, and Bryan Piccolomini holds NMLS #228509.
Do association dues affect how much I can borrow?
Yes. The dues are part of the monthly housing obligation the lender uses to calculate debt to income, along with taxes and insurance. In the Pocono communities they can be a meaningful number, so the current dues and any pending special assessment are worth knowing early.
What is the realty transfer tax?
Pennsylvania taxes the transfer of real estate at 1% of its value for the state, and most localities add their own rate on top. The contract decides how the buyer and seller split it, and it is part of the cash needed at closing.
Is a Lake Wallenpaupack house really lakefront?
Often not in the legal sense. Brookfield Renewable typically owns the lakebed and a strip of shoreline, and docks need its permit. What you hold by title and what you hold by permit is worth confirming during the inspection period.
Can I rent the house when we are not using it?
Check the community rules first, because many Pocono associations restrict short-term rental. For the loan, what matters is whether the property is under an agreement that gives a management firm control over the occupancy. If it is, the purchase is an investment property.
More states: all 27. Run the arithmetic first on the calculators page.
Read the community before the house
In the Poconos, the dues, the rental rules and the shoreline permit decide the file as much as the price does.