House report

149 Fairmount Ave

Vacant · assessed $214K. On the 100 block of Fairmount Ave.

From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

The story of this houseAI · written from the public record

Reading this house's deeds, permits and assessments…

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

Zoned RSA5: one household by right

Single-family rowhouse (the classic Philly row). Converting to a duplex or apartments needs a use variance the zoning board rarely grants — Pennsylvania courts require a physical hardship of the lot itself, and economics alone do not qualify.

The last transfer was not a sale

The most recent recorded deed moved for nominal consideration, within one family. That is where tangled-title problems live — budget a real title search. (Occupants untangling an inherited deed can get help from the city's Tangled Title Fund.)

If you own it

Construction next door (150 Fairmount Ave, 2024)

Excavation deeper than 5 feet, or within 10 feet of an adjacent structure, legally requires the developer to survey neighboring homes first and give owners 10 days' written notice. Insist on the pre-construction survey — it is your evidence if cracks appear.

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 house 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 analyst below to dig into any number.

Assessed value

$214K

Price / sq ft

—

block $284 ·

Appreciation

-61%

-8%/yr, city 6.5%

In 5 years (~2031)

~$213K

-8%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast

Est. tax / yr

$3K

1.4% effective

Gross yield

14%

≈$3K/mo rent

Times sold

kept in the family

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

This houseBlock median & rangeL&I violationPermit

The paper trailImproved

Owner pulled a use permit in 2018.

2008 3 L&I violationsL&I
2009 Major alterationPermitMajor alterationPermitL&I: 2 failed, 2 passedL&I visit
2017 2 L&I violationsL&IInspection failed ×2L&I visit
2018 12 L&I violationsL&IL&I: 5 failed, 2 passedL&I visitAppeal grantedZoningUsePermit
2023 L&I violationL&IL&I: 2 failed, 2 passedL&I visit

Flags: 1 zoning/board appeal on record · long-held within one family. 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.

Lot

1,186 sqft

Zoning

RSA5

city zoning code

Zoning appeals

granted 2018

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

Run the numbers

What owning 149 Fairmount Ave takes, at your price and your rate. Taxes are this house's actual bill from the city record; rent starts at the area median. Assessed value is not an asking price — set the price slider to the real one.

Purchase price$214K

Down payment20%

Mortgage rate6.875%

Monthly rent$3K/mo

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.

Next door: 151 Fairmount Ave · 153 Fairmount Ave

Where this comes from

Assessment, spec sheet & owner — OPA Property Assessments, Office of Property Assessment
Sales & deed history — Realty Transfer Tax records, Recorder of Deeds
Permits, violations & inspections — L&I Property History · Atlas
Back taxes & liens — Real Estate Tax Balances, Dept. of Revenue
Zoning appeals — L&I & Zoning Board appeals
Neighborhood income & rents — US Census ACS 5-year estimates
Historical mortgage rates — Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, annual averages

City datasets are fetched live from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and cached briefly. AI-written passages are generated from these records only and rejected if they state a number the record doesn't hold.

I research this house against all 580,000+ Philadelphia property records, live — assessments, deeds, permits, violations, taxes, licenses, zoning appeals, schools, crime, and 311. Tap a question below to try me free; your own questions come with membership (free to start).

About this data & fine print

Answers are generated by an AI agent querying City of Philadelphia open data at the moment you ask: OPA property assessments, Recorder of Deeds transfer records, L&I permits, violations & licenses, Dept. of Revenue tax balances, Zoning Board appeals, Police incident reports, Philly311 requests, and School District of Philadelphia catchment and school data.

City data is published as-is and can lag, contain errors, or be corrected later; school performance datasets run years behind and are labeled with their school year. AI answers can contain mistakes — verify anything that matters against the official record (property.phila.gov, atlas.phila.gov) before acting on it.

Informational only. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Not a consumer report under the FCRA — it may not be used to decide anyone's eligibility for housing, tenancy, employment, credit, or insurance.

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

149 Fairmount Ave

What to do with this

If you’re buying

If you own it

The investment read

The house, on paper

Run the numbers

Where this comes from

This is 149 Fairmount Ave,
on paper.

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