Multi-family report

1421 W Olney Ave

2 stories · 1,510 sqft · RSA5 · built 1920

Absentee individual · assessed $147K · 2 licensed units · sold 1×. On the 1400 block of W Olney Ave.

Street view of 1421 W Olney Ave
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

Property summary

What stands out

From the public record
Finding

History

Why it matters

2 L&I violations (2008); Inspection failed (2008); Inspection failed (2009); L&I violation (2011); Inspection failed (2011); Inspection passed (2012); sold $65K (2014).

View supporting records →

What to do with this

The record, translated into moves — what a buyer, the owner, and a landlord would each want to check next under Philadelphia's actual rules.

If you’re buying

Built 1920: lead rules apply

Federal law requires a lead-paint disclosure at sale for any pre-1978 home. If it will be rented, Philadelphia also requires a lead-safe or lead-free certificate before a rental license can issue.

2 units in RSA5, a single-family district

The building's use almost certainly predates today's code — a "legal nonconforming" use. That status survives a sale but can lapse if the use is abandoned or the building sits vacant; verify the registered use with L&I before pricing it as 2 rents.

If you’re the landlord

Lead certificate is not optional

Built 1920: every rental unit needs a lead-safe or lead-free certificate on file with the City. Without one: fines up to $2,000/day per unit, tenants may withhold rent, courts can order rent refunded — and no eviction will stand.

Licensed rental — keep it that way

Renewal requires city tax clearance and zero open L&I violations on the property. A lapsed license suspends the right to collect rent or evict.

Derived from this house's public records and the city's rules as of 2026 (abatement ordinance, Homestead, rental licensing, lead certification, L&I process, excavation protections). Informational only — not legal, tax, or investment advice.

The investment read

How this building has moved and where it's pointed: the city's assessed value (not a listing price) over 12 years, charted against its block; appreciation is that history's pace, and the 5-year figure simply extends it. Yield estimates rent-vs-price from area rents. Ask the record to dig into any number.

Assessed value
$147K
built 1920
Price / sq ft
$98
block $138 · below block
Appreciation
+16%
+1%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$148K
+1%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$2K
1.4% effective
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
No match
not proof the account is current
Gross yield
3.9%
≈$474/mo rent
Times sold
1
licensed rental

Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line

$0$125K$250KBefore this chart — 2008: 2 L&I violations 2008: Inspection failed 2009: Inspection failed 2011: L&I violation 2011: Inspection failed 2012: Inspection passed 2014: Sold $65K$147K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangePermit

The paper trail

2 L&I violations (2008); Inspection failed (2008); Inspection failed (2009); L&I violation (2011); Inspection failed (2011); Inspection passed (2012); sold $65K (2014).

  1. 2008 2 L&I violationsL&IInspection failedL&I visit
  2. 2009 Inspection failedL&I visit
  3. 2011 L&I violationL&IInspection failedL&I visit
  4. 2012 Inspection passedL&I visit
  5. 2014 $65KSold

Flags: active rental license. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).

The house, on paper

The city assessor's field record — the physical spec sheet behind the assessed number.

Stories
2
Interior
1,510 sqft
livable area
Lot
2,106 sqft
Basement
Full
city code D
Heat
Hot water / radiators
city code B
Central air
Yes
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Below average
city code 5
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
Zoning
RSA5
city zoning code

OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.

Run the numbers

What owning 1421 W Olney Ave takes, at your price and your rate. Taxes are this building's actual bill from the city record; rent starts at 2 licensed units × ~85% of the area's median unit rent — the whole building's income, not one unit's. Assessed value is not an asking price — set the price slider to the real one.

$147K
20%
6.875%
$1K/mo

When this house last sold (2014) a 30-year mortgage ran about 4.17% — Freddie Mac's average that year.

Mortgage
P&I · 30-yr fixed
All-in monthly
+ taxes & insurance
Cash to close
down + ~4% costs
Cash flow
rent − all costs · /mo
Cap rate
NOI ÷ price
Cash-on-cash
year-1 return on cash in

Estimates for orientation, not advice. Assumes a 30-year fixed loan, $1,400/yr insurance, 1% of price/yr maintenance; taxes from this parcel's record.

Block context

1421 W Olney Ave sits on the 1400 block of W Olney Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.

See the whole block →

Next door: 1419 W Olney Ave  ·  1423 W Olney Ave

Where this comes from

Methodology & freshness

Available City datasets are queried from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com), then reports are cached and refreshed on a rolling schedule. Source dates vary: the parcel-level tax-delinquency snapshot is June 2022 and the separate detailed tax ledger ends in 2016, so neither establishes today’s balance. Other dossiers re-pull on view once stale, and citywide benchmarks recompute weekly. AI-written passages are generated from these records only and rejected if they state a number the record doesn't hold.

Official city record ↗  ·  L&I history ↗  ·  See the whole block  ·  Download this record (JSON)