Mike has walked the Lehigh Valley streets since 2010. InterNACHI Certified Inspector. Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and 18 more cities — the contract price is the closing price. No surprises wholesalers are known for. Se habla español.
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ABE Homes buys houses for cash across the entire Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, covering 21 cities within a 20-mile service radius centered on Allentown — including Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Emmaus, Whitehall, Northampton, Hellertown, Catasauqua, Macungie, Nazareth, and 11 more. The U.S. Census-defined Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton MSA has 1.14 million residents across six counties (Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Montgomery, and Carbon).
What makes ABE the regional outlier: owner Mike holds InterNACHI certification — he is the only Lehigh Valley cash buyer who is also a certified home inspector. He walks every property himself, the contract price equals the closing price (no post-walkthrough revisions wholesalers are known for), and the entire process can be done in Spanish. Standard close is 7-14 days. Mike has operated in the Valley since 2010.
Answered by Mike, InterNACHI — verified Pennsylvania cash home buyer since 2010
Verify: InterNACHIThe Lehigh Valley outlier buyer
Mike holds InterNACHI certification (InterNACHI = International Association of Certified Home Inspectors — the largest non-profit home inspector body in North America). He walks every property himself. Contract price equals closing price — no "third-party inspector" showing up after the contract to chop the offer.
54.2% of Allentown is Hispanic per the 2020 U.S. Census. Mike serves in Spanish — calls, documents, closings — not via Google Translate. As far as we can tell, no Lehigh Valley cash buyer competitor offers Spanish content at all. This is genuine differentiation.
Mike lives in Allentown. He's walked these streets since 2010. He knows Center City rowhomes don't price like West End singles, and that Trexlertown is technically Lower Macungie with premium pricing from Parkland schools. National platforms (Opendoor, Offerpad) treat the whole region as a single spreadsheet.
ABE Homes runs on a modern Next.js site + n8n automation + GoHighLevel CRM + AI-driven nurture cadences. Programmatic city pages with real Wikimedia imagery + schema markup + county-specific legal copy. Transparency: written offers break down every number; messages reach Mike in minutes, not days.
Valley coverage
20-mile service radius from 1275 Glenlivet Dr, Allentown, PA 18106. Mike walks every property himself. Click your city for local context.
Situations we handle
Each situation has PA legal context and options beyond selling. Read first.
Your lender filed. The sheriff sale could be weeks away. 5 legitimate legal mechanisms — cash sale is one, not the only.
Read the guideRegister of Wills probate runs 6-12 months. Meanwhile, taxes keep accruing. Clean close coordinated with the estate attorney.
Read the guidePA equitable distribution (not 50/50). The judge orders sale. We close fast — the attorneys split the check at closing.
Read the guideBad tenants, back rent, property damage. PA 10-30 day notice depending on tenure. We buy with tenants in place.
Read the guideCarrying costs, liability fears, municipal code in violation. Vacant property is exactly our specialty.
Read the guide
Mike has held InterNACHI certification since 2010. InterNACHI is the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors — the largest non-profit home inspector body in North America. No other Lehigh Valley cash buyer appears in the public InterNACHI directory with the same credential.
That means the price you see on the contract is the closing price. No "third-party inspector" showing up post-contract "finding" issues to chop the offer — the pattern wholesalers are known for. That's the single defensible edge in the Lehigh Valley cash-buyer business, and it's why Mike built it.
ABE Homes · 1275 Glenlivet Dr Suite 100-03, Allentown, PA 18106 · Serving the Lehigh Valley since 2010.
Four real paths to sell a property in Pennsylvania, compared across the criteria that matter most: time, cost, certainty, and condition requirements.
| Criterion | Traditional MLS | FSBO (For Sale By Owner) | Auction | Cash buyer (ABE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to close | 60-120 days (list + show + offer + financing + close) | 90-180 days (self-managed) | 30-45 days (advertised + auction day + close) | 7 days from signed contract (5 days for urgent timelines) |
| Net price (% of full market value) | 90-95% (full price minus 5-6% agent commission) | 94-100% (no agent commission, but more market time + risk) | 60-90% (unpredictable; depends on bidder competition) | 75-85% (price reflects as-is condition; no commissions, no fees) |
| Repair / prep requirements | Significant. Code violations, structural issues, or major deferred maintenance will kill conventional financing | Significant. Same buyer-pool constraints as MLS | Minimal. Properties sold as-is, but auction crowds expect to see anything | None. Bought as-is including code violations, structural damage, hoarder conditions |
| Certainty (likelihood of completing sale) | Medium. 15-30% of accepted offers fall through (financing, inspection, appraisal) | Low-Medium. Same financing risk as MLS plus self-managed paperwork failure rate | High to close, but final price is unpredictable | Very high. Contract price = closing price, no financing contingency, no buyer pullout risk |
| Out-of-pocket cost to seller | $5K-$50K+ (repairs, staging, photography, agent commission, closing costs) | $1K-$10K+ (marketing, MLS listing service, contract attorney, transfer tax) | Auctioneer fee 5-15% of sale price + advertising costs | $0. ABE pays transfer tax + recording fees + title costs |
| Best for | Houses in good condition + sellers with 30-60+ days of patience + budget for prep | Experienced sellers with unique properties + time to manage process | Properties hard to value traditionally (farms, large parcels, unusual investment property) | Distressed properties, time pressure, inherited/divorce/foreclosure situations, complex title |
Comparison based on typical Pennsylvania market costs. Your specific situation may vary; ask for an honest assessment before signing anything.
Metro area data
1.14M
MSA residents
2020 U.S. Census
6
Counties covered
Lehigh · Northampton · Berks · Bucks · Montgomery · Carbon
20 mi
Service radius
From 1275 Glenlivet Dr
21
Cities served
Tier 1-3 enriched
From Mike
"People think of the Lehigh Valley as Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton. That's half of it. The MSA covers six counties and 1.14 million people, and the housing sub-markets inside that range aren't interchangeable. Center City rowhomes don't price like West End singles. Trexlertown is technically Lower Macungie with premium pricing from Parkland schools. Bethlehem straddles Northampton and Lehigh, which changes where your taxes are assessed. I've walked these streets since 2010 — that's why we comp by block, not by a city-wide average."
Process
Mike drives to the property himself — Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, or any of the 18 other cities. An honest 30-minute walkthrough. Looks at the roof, systems, foundation. You pay nothing for this.
Get a firm written offer that breaks down every number — neighborhood comps, condition adjustments, closing costs covered. The contract number is the number you sign.
We encourage you to have a PA real estate attorney review the contract. We're not in a hurry. Transparency is the proof the offer is genuine.
Close at the correct county title office (Lehigh or Northampton). We cover all closing costs, PA realty transfer tax, and any liens from proceeds. You walk away with a check.
All 21 enriched cities within our 20-mile service radius: Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton (the three core cities), plus Emmaus, Whitehall Township, Northampton, Hellertown, Catasauqua, Macungie, Alburtis, Freemansburg, Coplay, Coopersburg, Slatington, Nazareth, Fountain Hill, Fullerton, Salisbury Township, Bath, Bangor, and Pen Argyl. If your property is within 20 miles of 1275 Glenlivet Dr, Allentown, PA 18106, Mike walks it personally. For properties outside that radius (Berks County to the west, Carbon County to the north), we evaluate case by case over the phone.
The two counties levy property taxes separately, plus school district and municipal taxes. Lehigh County (seat: Allentown) runs its Tax Claim Bureau Upset Sale every September for properties two years delinquent. Northampton County (seat: Easton) runs its Tax Upset Sale on a separate date, also in September. Millage rates vary — Allentown has three layers (State + City + Allentown School District = 2% total realty transfer tax). Bethlehem straddles both counties (76% Northampton, 24% Lehigh), which affects where your taxes are assessed and recorded. We coordinate directly with the correct county office at closing.
Carbon County (Jim Thorpe, Palmerton, Lehighton) and Berks County (Reading, Kutztown) sit at the northern and western edge of our service radius. We take those properties case-by-case when: (a) the property is within 20 miles of Allentown, (b) Mike can walk it on a reasonable trip, and (c) the county processes (Sheriff Sale, Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds) don't add material time to the close. Call to ask — the radius edge isn't absolute.
The U.S. Census-defined Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton MSA (1.14 million residents per 2020 Census) covers six counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks (northern), Montgomery (northwest corner), and Carbon (southern corner). Our operational 20-mile radius centers on Lehigh + Northampton (where most of the 21 served cities sit), with partial coverage of the other four. Quakertown (Bucks), Pennsburg (Montgomery), and Palmerton (Carbon) occasionally come into play — confirm by phone.
PA school districts levy their own property taxes on top of county and municipal taxes, and rates vary dramatically. Allentown School District (among the highest in the state, Act 1 funding-challenged), Parkland School District (premium Trexlertown / Upper Macungie coverage), East Penn School District (Emmaus / Macungie / Lower Macungie — the suburban home-value anchor), Bethlehem Area School District (covers both counties), Easton Area School District. When we comp your house, we comp by school district — the same 3-bedroom in Parkland is worth materially more than the same house in Allentown SD, and that affects our cash offer.
National iBuyers (Opendoor, Offerpad, RedfinNow) are limited to good-condition homes — generally post-1990 construction, current code, no deferred maintenance — and they operate algorithmically without walking the property. Their offer is model-generated. Mike walks every property himself. We buy homes in any condition, including pre-1940 stock with knob-and-tube wiring, original boilers, lead paint, fire damage, foundation issues. The offer is real, written, and firm — not contingent on a second inspection that drops the price. National iBuyers also charge 5-9% service fees — we charge no fees. Contract price is closing price.
Standard close is 7 to 14 days from signed contract. The constraint isn't our money — it's the title work and coordination with any relevant lender, sheriff's office, or probate court. If your sheriff sale is within 14 days, we can close in time when title work starts today. If you're in probate waiting on Letters Testamentary from the Register of Wills, we wait for them to issue. If you're behind on Lehigh or Northampton County taxes, we pay the arrears at the closing table from sale proceeds.
Mike holds InterNACHI certification (InterNACHI = International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, the largest non-profit home inspector body in North America). No other Lehigh Valley cash buyer appears in the public InterNACHI directory. That means when Mike walks your property, that IS the inspection. There's no "third-party inspector" who shows up after the contract "finding" issues to chop the offer — the pattern wholesalers are known for. Contract price is closing price.
Yes — Allentown is 54.2% Hispanic per the 2020 U.S. Census, predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican families. Bethlehem also has a substantial Hispanic population (roughly 30%). We do calls, documents, and closings fully in Spanish — not via Google Translate. As far as we can tell, no other Lehigh Valley cash buyer has Spanish content at all. This is genuine differentiation, not localization.
Code violations and municipal liens (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton — they all have a similar process) are signals to us that your house is exactly a candidate for a cash sale. We pay the liens from sale proceeds at closing. The code enforcement office (Allentown: 610-437-7541) will confirm to the title holder that the lien is paid off, and the transfer proceeds clean. Read more in our dedicated municipal liens guide.
Start where it makes sense for you. You don't have to sell — you have to decide.
Allentown, PA
Flagship city page
Bethlehem, PA
Christmas City — 2 counties
Easton, PA
Northampton County seat
Why trust ABE?
Credibility page
Service areas
Interactive map
Glossary
PA legal terms explained
Prefer to talk first? Mike answers the phone.
Ready When You Are
Whether you're ready to sell today or just exploring your options, we're here to help. Get a free, no-obligation cash offer and decide on your own timeline.
What you get with ABE Homes:
Mike was straightforward from the start. No pressure, just a fair offer. We closed on our timeline and it was exactly what we needed.
Sarah T., Bethlehem
Talk to Mike
Owner & Certified Inspector
(484) 895-1352
Offers typically within 24-48 hours
