Churchville address confusion (Northampton, Somerset, Richboro: insurance, new house, neighborhoods)

[Padugan]

So we are moving to Churchville at the end of the month and I recently noticed a discrepancy with the address. Most places these days just type the first part of an address into their system and the system completes it based on an existing database......the MLS listing has the house listed as Churchville, PA 18966.

The owners have told us it is in Northampton township, but a lot of the people involved in the inspections and insurance etc. are listing it as Southampton, PA. 18966.

It obvious both work, just wondering which we should go with since we will be changing our addresses soon.

[maf763]

Philly suburbs are funny that way. You can refer to neighborhood names, townships or post offices, all of which might be different, as they are in this case. Locally, using the neighborhood name probably makes the most sense, as it will pinpoint the area more specifically.

[bryson662001]

Originally Posted by Padugan

So we are moving to Churchville at the end of the month and I recently noticed a discrepancy with the address. Most places these days just type the first part of an address into their system and the system completes it based on an existing database......the MLS listing has the house listed as Churchville, PA 18966.

The owners have told us it is in Northampton township, but a lot of the people involved in the inspections and insurance etc. are listing it as Southampton, PA. 18966.

It obvious both work, just wondering which we should go with since we will be changing our addresses soon.

The same thing happened to me. I just moved to Rydal in Abington township and depending on which computer you talk to I have been told I live in Rydal, Meadowbrook, Abington, Foxcroft Square (no such place btw), Huntington Valley or most often Jenkintown, which owns my zip code 19046. I use Jenkintown because it is the one that comes up most often although I don't live in Jenkintown. My mailman said it doesn't matter as long as the zip is correct. I would prefer to use Rydal since that is where I actually live but many computer programs won't allow it with my Jenkintown Zip code. Otherwise I put in my zip 1st and let the computer tell me where I live. This situation also happens in Media which is a small boro with a zip that covers a huge area with many place names inside of it.

[Padugan]

thanks, I never paid attention to this kind of thing living in the city. But now apparently it's VERY important when looking at sports programs for the kids. Some are free if you live in a certain area others require a fee based on address.

[PhillyViaBoston]

It is unusual for the 1. zip code, 2. school district, and 3. municipality to which you pay your local taxes all to match in Pennsylvania. But if you know all three for your house (and sometimes for comparison it helps to know this for the homes in your vicinity) you should be able to identify where you "live." It's not easy!

And I agree that as long as you get the zip code right on your mail (see the 'look up zip code' option at usps.com) the town name usually doesn't matter.

[PhillyViaBoston]

Originally Posted by Padugan

the MLS listing has the house listed as Churchville, PA 18966.

The owners have told us it is in Northampton township, but a lot of the people involved in the inspections and insurance etc. are listing it as Southampton, PA. 18966.

Here's a bit more information...

According to usps.com:
"Southampton" includes both 18954 and 18966.
Richboro is 18954.
Churchville is 18966.
Holland is 18966.
(18966 covers both - and only - Churchville and Holland. 18954 covers only Richboro.)

According to Wikipedia:
Churchville, Holland, and Richboro are all part of Northampton Township and Council Rock school district.

And, just to confuse things further, there is a Northampton Township in Somerset County, PA, which is different than Northampton Township, Bucks County, PA!

So here is "all" you need to triangulate your new house...!
post office designation: Churchville 18966 (Southampton 18966 would be okay too, though not as specific)
local municipality: Northampton Township (Bucks Co)
school district: Council Rock

Welcome to Pennsylvania!

[pcity]

Originally Posted by Padugan

thanks, I never paid attention to this kind of thing living in the city. But now apparently it's VERY important when looking at sports programs for the kids. Some are free if you live in a certain area others require a fee based on address.

That's based on municipality, though. Whatever you write on your mail isn't going to change which township you pay taxes to (and get services, such as sports programs, from).

[Padugan]

Originally Posted by PhillyViaBoston

Here's a bit more information...

According to usps.com:
"Southampton" includes both 18954 and 18966.
Richboro is 18954.
Churchville is 18966.
Holland is 18966.
(18966 covers both - and only - Churchville and Holland. 18954 covers only Richboro.)

According to Wikipedia:
Churchville, Holland, and Richboro are all part of Northampton Township and Council Rock school district.

And, just to confuse things further, there is a Northampton Township in Somerset County, PA, which is different than Northampton Township, Bucks County, PA!

So here is "all" you need to triangulate your new house...!
post office designation: Churchville 18966 (Southampton 18966 would be okay too, though not as specific)
local municipality: Northampton Township (Bucks Co)
school district: Council Rock

Welcome to Pennsylvania!

thanks for Info. I grew up in PA, so I'm familiar with how the above is laid out. the confusion i'm having is how can Southampton Township and Northampton Township lay claim to the same place, Churchville?
Wiki and Google put it in Northampton, USPS puts it in Southampton. In my experience, a county can have multiple townships. A township can have mulitple towns / neighborhoods, but there was always a clear line what was located in each township as that has the most local effect on things like taxes and trash collection etc. even though zips overlapped.

In this case, I have to pay an extra fee to sign my son up for soccer if i'm in Southampton (not a big deal, just don't want registration invalidated by sending in the wrong amount), but if I'm in northanpton I don't have to pay it..........since churchville is listed in both, I'm lost. I emailed the league to clarify. Sure I'm not the only one who's been confused.

p.s. there is also a southampton up near allentown......quite a let down as you can get twice as much house and land for the same price as the southampton in Bucks.........until you realize it's hour plus further north.

[pcity]

Originally Posted by Padugan

the confusion i'm having is how can Southampton Township and Northampton Township lay claim to the same place, Churchville?
Wiki and Google put it in Northampton, USPS puts it in Southampton. In my experience, a county can have multiple townships. A township can have mulitple towns / neighborhoods, but there was always a clear line what was located in each township as that has the most local effect on things like taxes and trash collection etc. even though zips overlapped.

USPS determines your street address but not your municipality.

The easiest way to determine your municipality is by entering your full address on this site (it requires a "work" address as well, but you can just copy and paste from your home address for this purpose):

Municipal Statistics Tax Reports

[PhillyViaBoston]

Originally Posted by Padugan

the confusion i'm having is how can Southampton Township and Northampton Township lay claim to the same place, Churchville?

My read is that Churchville is in the municipality of Northampton Township (only). Northampton Township will collect your taxes and manage services for your home.

Relevant to your home, "Southampton" 18966 is a potential post office designation only (with Churchville 18966 being the other, more specific option). Wikipedia says Southampton is an "unincorporated community" within Upper Southampton Township. To add complexity, both Upper Southampton Township and Lower Southampton Township border Northampton Township in Bucks County, but they're all different municipalities.

I guess the question remains... Does your soccer league go by municipality or post office boundaries? Since they specified Northampton is free my bet is municipality, but that's just a guess...?!?