Improved
Why it mattersBought for $65K in 2006. Owner pulled a minor demolition permit in 2016.
View supporting records →House report
1539 W Lehigh Ave
Vacant · assessed $21K · sold 2×. On the 1500 block of W Lehigh Ave.
Property summary
Assessment$21KCity assessed value
Last sale$31KRecorded 2023
Est. annual tax$297/yearAssessment × 1.3998%
Tax delinquencyNo 2022 matchNot proof account is current
Permits3Shown in this report
ViolationsNone openNo open L&I cases
What stands out
From the public recordWhat 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.
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 record to dig into any number.
Assessed value
$21K
Price / sq ft
—
block $66 ·
Appreciation
-40%
-5%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$21K
-5%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$297
1.4% effective
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
No match
not proof the account is current
Gross yield
—
Times sold
2
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangeSaleTeardownL&I violationPermit
The paper trail
ImprovedBought for $65K in 2006. Owner pulled a minor demolition permit in 2016.
- 2006 $65KSold
- 2016 7 L&I violations incl UNSAFE STRUCTUREL&IPlumbingPermitZoning/usePermitMinor DemolitionPermitDemolishedTeardown
- 2023 $31KSold
- 2024 L&I violationL&I
Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
Run the numbers
What owning 1539 W Lehigh 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.
When this house last sold (2023) a 30-year mortgage ran about 6.81% — 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
1539 W Lehigh Ave sits on the 1500 block of W Lehigh Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 1537 W Lehigh Ave · 1541 W Lehigh 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
- Tax delinquency snapshot · June 2022 — Real Estate Tax Delinquencies, Dept. of Revenue
- Historical tax ledger & liens · through 2016 — Real Estate Tax Balances, Dept. of Revenue
- Current property-tax balance — Verify with Philadelphia 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
- Imagery — Street photo © Google · Aerial © Esri, Maxar
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.
First time here?
This is 1539 W Lehigh Ave,
on paper.
Every deed, permit, L&I visit, tax bill and sale for this house — plus its whole block.
No signup, no teaser
The whole record is free.
Permits, violations, taxes, deeds, ownership, and block context are all here. The public record is free to read; membership is for deeper research.
Three taps, you're oriented
What to catch on the way down.
On the way down: the story of the house, its paper trail drawn on the value chart, and run-the-numbers, a calculator seeded with this house's actual tax bill.
Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)