Sell your house fast in Wilmington, DE.
From brick rows near the Christina River to split-levels out in the county suburbs, we pay cash for Wilmington-area homes with their flaws left alone, and we buy in Kent and Sussex too. Send us the address and you get a straight number; a Delaware attorney settles it on your date, with no repairs, showings or commission.
- One walk-through, no open houses or strangers in your kitchen
- Skip the repairs and the cleanout
- No agent commission and no fee to us
- You pick the settlement date
Based in Swedesboro, NJ, across the Delaware Memorial Bridge from Wilmington.
How a sale to us works in Delaware
Four steps. Until you sign the contract in step four, you can walk away at any point and owe nothing.
- Step 1
Send the address
Use the bar above or call. We ask what the house needs, what you owe on it and how soon you need to move on.
- Step 2
One visit
Someone from our team walks through once. Nothing needs to be cleaned, emptied or fixed beforehand.
- Step 3
Your cash number
Usually within 24 hours, with the reasoning behind it. Take it to your family or your own lawyer before deciding.
- Step 4
Settlement
A Delaware attorney handles the title search, the payoffs and the deed. About a week is possible once title is clear.
The full Delaware process, including the transfer tax and the recording office →
Selling a house in Wilmington and greater Wilmington
Wilmington is Delaware’s biggest city and the place our Delaware buying starts. Here is what shapes a sale inside the city line, and in the New Castle County towns that surround it.
- 70,898people living in Wilmington at the 2020 census; Dover, next largest, had 39,403
- 48.0%share of Wilmington homes lived in by their owners (Census, 2020–2024)
- 570,719New Castle County residents in 2020, over half the state’s total
- $352,200county median for owner-occupied homes, Census estimate 2020–2024
Inside the city line
A house within Wilmington’s limits answers to two governments. The city mails its own property tax bill, at $3.7413 per $1,000 of assessed value on homes for fiscal 2026, and it also bills water, sewer and stormwater and licenses every rental. New Castle County sends the county and school bill on top of that. Under the City Code, unpaid city balances can follow the house to its next owner, so our settlement attorney gets the city’s payoff figure and clears it from your proceeds.
Two city rules surprise sellers. The city expects a Transfer of Ownership Form with a water-meter photo about two weeks ahead of settlement, or $10,000 gets held in escrow. And an empty building draws a yearly vacant fee that grows with time, from $500 after one year to $12,000 after five. Our guide to Wilmington city taxes, liens and rules goes through each office and deadline.
Around the city
Cross the city line and the county takes over. Newark, the city of New Castle and Middletown have town governments of their own, while Claymont and much of the suburban ring are unincorporated New Castle County. Out there, a rental is registered with the county for free, with an update due by May 1 of every odd-numbered year, and a house left empty has to be registered within 90 days.
Wherever the house sits in the county, the paperwork ends up at one address. The Recorder of Deeds and the Register of Wills both work out of the City/County Building at 800 N. French Street, and the sheriff holds foreclosure and tax sales there at 9:00 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month. This year’s county and school taxes are due December 31, 2026.
Why Wilmington-area owners sell to us instead of listing
Plenty of houses in and around Wilmington sell perfectly well through an agent. The ones that reach us usually come with a catch: an East Side rowhouse whose tenant quit paying months ago, a Claymont twin still running its original furnace under a sagging roof, a Bear split-level that three siblings inherited and nobody wants to keep, or a family with a job starting in another state on a date that will not move.
In those cases a listing asks a lot of you. You fix what a lender’s inspector would flag, keep the place ready for showings, and wait to see whether the buyer’s mortgage makes it to settlement. We skip all of that. Our own money funds the purchase, so no lender has to approve anything, and we price the work the house needs into the number instead of handing you a repair list.
The trade-off is real and we will say it out loud: because we carry the renovation and the risk, our price lands below what a fixed-up house would fetch on the open market. If yours would move quickly with an agent and the calendar allows it, you will hear that from us too.
Northbound was started by Dylan Burnett, and it is a small team. When you call, you talk to the people who will actually buy the house, not a call center collecting addresses for someone else.
What is different about selling in Delaware
If you have sold a house in Pennsylvania, Maryland or New Jersey, two parts of a Delaware sale will surprise you.
A Delaware attorney runs the settlementSince the state Supreme Court’s 2000 decision in the Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services case, a closing on Delaware real estate has to be conducted by an attorney licensed in Delaware. A title agent cannot run it alone. The attorney searches the county land records, collects the payoff figures, supervises the money and sends the deed to the Recorder of Deeds.
The transfer tax is split, unless the contract says otherwiseDelaware’s realty transfer tax usually totals 4 percent of the price: the state share plus up to 1.5 percent for the town or county. Section 5402 of Title 30 divides it equally between seller and buyer by default. Before you compare offers, check who pays it in each one, ours included.
Two more Delaware rules come up on almost every call: the seller disclosure form and, for estates, the county Register of Wills.
Selling to us, listing, or an online instant offer
Each one suits a different house and a different deadline. This is where they actually differ.
| Topic | Selling to Northbound | Listing with an agent | Online instant-offer company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condition | As it stands; the work is priced into our number | Inspection findings often turn into repair requests or credits | Many stick to newer houses in good repair |
| Showings | One walk-through | Listing photos, then showings and open houses for as long as it takes | Typically a single visit, sometimes a recorded video tour |
| Money | Our own funds, no buyer loan | Most buyers need a mortgage and an appraisal | Their own funds |
| Fees | No commission and no service fee | A commission you negotiate with your agent | A service fee is common, taken at settlement |
| Timing | Your date; about a week once title is clear | Hinges on demand and on the buyer’s loan | Set by their schedule and their inspection |
| Price | Below a renovated-house price, because we take on the work | Usually the top result for a well-presented house | Set by a pricing model and open to revision after inspection |
| Settlement | A Delaware attorney, as the law requires | A Delaware attorney, as the law requires | A Delaware attorney, as the law requires |
Our column describes our own process. The other two summarize what Delaware sellers tend to encounter; each company sets its own terms, so get any buyer’s in writing.
We also buy across the rest of Delaware
Greater Wilmington is our home base in the state, yet the offer works the same way in Kent and Sussex. Each of those counties keeps its own Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, and in both, property tax unpaid after September 30 picks up a 1.5 percent penalty every month.
Kent County, DE
The middle county: Dover, the capital, plus Smyrna, Camden, Harrington and the farm towns around them.
Sussex County, DE
The southern county: Atlantic and bay beaches on its eastern side, farm country and small towns toward Maryland.
The reason behind the sale
Usually something specific is driving the timing. Each guide explains how that situation works under Delaware law and where a cash sale does or does not help.
- Facing foreclosureA scire facias case in Superior Court, mediation, then a sheriff sale. Selling first can keep your equity yours.
- Behind on property taxesCounty or city taxes piling up toward a monition sale. The balance can be paid off at settlement.
- Inherited or in probateAn estate opened with the Register of Wills and a house nobody in the family plans to keep.
- Divorce or separationBoth owners sign, one settlement pays the mortgage off, and the money is split as your agreement says.
- Tired landlordTenants in place, paying or not. The lease and the Landlord-Tenant Code rules come with the sale.
- House needs major repairsA roof, a septic system or a foundation that a mortgage buyer's inspector would flag.
- Vacant houseAn empty house still costs taxes, insurance and utilities, and some cities want it registered.
- Code violations or open permitsNotices from a city or county inspector, or work that was never signed off.
- Military move or relocationPCS orders out of Dover Air Force Base, or a new job somewhere else on a fixed date.
- DownsizingTrading a big house and a full attic for something easier to look after.
- Flood or storm damageWater in the house, a damaged roof, or a lot in a mapped flood zone along the bay or a river.
From our Google reviews
Three reviews quoted exactly as they appear on our Google Business Profile. Every one of the 18, including the critical one, is on our reviews page.
- 4.8average Google rating
- 18Google reviews behind that average
- 24 hrsusual time from the visit to a cash number
- 3Delaware counties we buy in
Northbound home buyers were excellent they took care of everything and gave me a good price for my home. Dylan was great. I would recommend them to anyone.
Dylan was absolutely fantastic to work with, he and his team made the process of selling my family's home incredibly easy. Have, and will continue to, recommend them to everyone!
Overall positive experience. Fast closing as promised. Closed at agreed price with no additional contract negotiations. Provided time to move some additional items after closing. Good company to work with.
Wilmington sellers often ask
Straight answers to what Wilmington-area owners ask us most. The full FAQ covers the rest of Delaware.
Do you buy houses in Wilmington, DE?
Yes. We buy houses inside the Wilmington city limits and throughout the greater Wilmington area of New Castle County, from Claymont down to Middletown, and we also buy in Kent and Sussex counties. Brick rows, twins, detached houses and rentals all qualify, broken furnace and leaky roof included. Our office is in Swedesboro, New Jersey, so we come to you for the walk-through.
How many property tax bills does a Wilmington homeowner get?
Two. The City of Wilmington bills its own property tax, which for fiscal 2026 was $3.7413 per $1,000 of assessed value on homes, and New Castle County sends a second bill for county and school taxes. This year that county bill is due December 31, 2026. Whatever is still owed on either one comes out of your proceeds at settlement.
What paperwork does the City of Wilmington want before a sale closes?
A Transfer of Ownership Form and a photo of the water meter, sent to the city roughly two weeks before the settlement date. The city uses them to issue a final payoff for water, sewer, stormwater, city taxes and inspection fees. Without the meter photo there is a $50 charge for a reading, and without the form $10,000 is held back in escrow. On a sale to us, the settlement attorney takes care of that filing.
Do unpaid Wilmington water or tax bills stay with the house?
Yes, unless they are paid and released. Under City Code sections 4-120 and 11-2, liens for city taxes, utility charges, fines and fees pass to whoever owns the house next, which is why the attorney pays them out of the sale money before the deed is recorded.
What does Wilmington charge for a vacant house?
It depends on how many years the building has been empty as of November 1, no matter who owns it: nothing in the first year, $500 after one year, and a rising scale that reaches $12,000 once it has been vacant five years or more. An unpaid fee turns into a lien on the property, so a sale before the next November 1 count keeps the following charge off your plate.
Can I sell a Wilmington rental that still has tenants?
Yes, and the tenants can stay, because the lease transfers to us at settlement. Wilmington requires an annual rental license and periodic inspections, and an owner who does not live in New Castle County has to hire a property manager, so a lot of out-of-area landlords decide to sell instead. Have the leases and deposit records handy for our first conversation.
Who collects the transfer tax on a house in Wilmington?
The New Castle County Recorder of Deeds, on the 4th floor of 800 N. French Street, which has collected the city’s share as Wilmington’s agent since January 3, 2022, together with the state share. By default, 30 Del. C. § 5402 divides the tax equally between seller and buyer, and our written offer says which part is yours.
When are New Castle County sheriff sales held?
At 9:00 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month, in the City/County Building at 800 N. French Street in Wilmington. You still own the house until the sale happens and the Superior Court confirms it, so a private sale that settles first leaves the price up to you rather than to the auction. Owner-occupants also get a mediation conference before any judgment can be entered.
Which towns around Wilmington do you cover?
All of New Castle County, including Newark, Bear, the city of New Castle, Claymont and Middletown, plus the unincorporated suburbs in between. Outside the city limits the county sets the rules: rentals in unincorporated areas are registered with the county at no charge, and an empty house there must be registered within 90 days of becoming vacant.
Does a Delaware home sale require an attorney?
Yes, every Delaware sale closes through a Delaware-licensed attorney, because the state Supreme Court ruled in 2000 (In re Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services) that conducting a real estate settlement is the practice of law. You can also hire your own lawyer to read our contract before you sign it.
Is Northbound Home Buyers a Delaware company?
No, our office is at 9 Styvesant Drive in Swedesboro, New Jersey, and we buy houses throughout Delaware from there. We do not have a Delaware office, so we come to the house for the walk-through and the settlement takes place with a Delaware attorney.
Do you charge a commission or fees?
No. You pay no commission, and Northbound adds no fee. The usual deductions on your side of the settlement statement are the mortgage payoff, any liens or overdue taxes, and whatever share of the transfer tax the contract gives you, all paid out of the sale. Our written offer lists which closing costs we cover.