The Block Report

House report

1540 E Cheltenham Ave

3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 1,324 sqft · RSA5 · built 1945

Owner-occupied · assessed $177K (2026) · 2027 OPA assessment $190K · sold 1×. On the 1500 block of E Cheltenham Ave.

Property summary

Assessment$177,4002026 OPA assessment · 2027: $189,700 Last sale$46KRecorded 2015 Est. tax bill$1,083/year2026 OPA · Homestead-adjusted Tax delinquencyNo 2022 matchNot proof account is current Permits1Every fetched City permit Violations0 open3 historical across 1 case

“Open” reflects records available then historical records keep their source dates estimates are labeled

BlockReport AI · cited public records

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BlockReport can explain a discrepancy, but it cannot rewrite an official City record. Use the agency that owns the underlying fact:

Street view of 1540 E Cheltenham Ave
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

The estimate, live balance, and back-tax record are different.

BlockReport can calculate the annual tax from the City’s taxable assessment. Payments, credits, interest, and a current amount due live separately in Philadelphia Tax Center.

Estimated annual Real Estate Tax$1,083/year

2026 taxable assessment $77,400 × 1.3998%. Estimate—not a bill or account balance.

OPA also publishes a 2027 assessment of $189,700; it is not the 2026 billed-year value.

Official current account balanceCheck live

A Tax Center balance is net of bills, payments, credits, interest, and adjustments. A credit—or an amount due—is not automatically “back taxes.”

OPA 621076300
Open Philadelphia Tax Center →Choose “View period balance” to see the tax year and any credit, interest, or delinquency.
Exemption classificationHomestead exemption

2026 OPA removes $100,000 from the taxable assessment through the owner-occupant exemption.

Historical delinquency sources Record found

This parcel did not match the June 2022 delinquency snapshot. That absence does not confirm the account is current today.

A separate historical parcel ledger ending in 2016 records $229.12 and a lien entry. It is shown as historical context only.

2016$229.12 total · $126.29 principal · $1.90 interest · $1.26 penalty

For a purchase, refinance, or closing, request the City’s official Property Payoff statement in Tax Center under “More options.”

What stands out

From the public record

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 1945: 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.

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.

If you own it

$229 in the historical tax ledger through 2016

Historical context only, not a current payoff figure; that ledger also contains a lien entry. Verify today's balance and lien status directly with Philadelphia Revenue before relying on it.

Derived from the fetched property records and linked City guidance as of 2026. Assessment treatment is not a substitute for an exemption approval, live balance, title report, license, occupancy certificate, or inspection. 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
$177,400
2026 billed-year assessment · 2027: $189,700 · built 1945
Price / sq ft
$143
block $156 · below block
Appreciation
+83%
+6%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$190K
+6%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax bill / yr
$1,083
0.57% effective
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
No match
not proof the account is current
Gross yield
-4217185%
≈$-667M/mo rent
Times sold
1

Assessment vs. the block · every dated City record marked on the line

$0$100K$200K2016 OPA assessment: $97K2017 OPA assessment: $97K2018 OPA assessment: $97K2019 OPA assessment: $105K2020 OPA assessment: $110K2021 OPA assessment: $110K2022 OPA assessment: $110K2023 OPA assessment: $145K2024 OPA assessment: $145K2025 OPA assessment: $177K2026 OPA assessment: $177K2013 — 2013-10-31: EXT S-WINDOW REPAIR/MAINTAIN (Repair or maintain exterior windows) · 2013-10-31: EXT A-MOTOR VEH MUST BE REMOV · 2013-10-31: EXT S-WALLS REPAIR/MAINTAIN · 2013-12-16: HCEU INSP (Housing Code Enforcement Unit inspection)2014 — 2014-01-27: HCEU INSP (Housing Code Enforcement Unit inspection) · 2014-05-05: PRECOURT (likely: pre-court compliance inspection)2015 — Deed / sale $46K2025 — 2025-04-30: Alterations$177K201320162019202220252026
This propertyBlock median & rangeDeed / saleL&I violationPermitInspection
2025-04-30: Alterations
Highlight
Every dated record8 events · scroll to browse
  1. PermitAlterations
  2. Deed / saleDeed / sale $46K
  3. InspectionPRECOURT (likely: pre-court compliance inspection)
  4. InspectionHCEU INSP (Housing Code Enforcement Unit inspection)
  5. InspectionHCEU INSP (Housing Code Enforcement Unit inspection)
  6. L&I violationEXT S-WINDOW REPAIR/MAINTAIN (Repair or maintain exterior windows)
  7. L&I violationEXT A-MOTOR VEH MUST BE REMOV
  8. L&I violationEXT S-WALLS REPAIR/MAINTAIN

The paper trail

Improved

Bought for $46K in 2015. Owner pulled a alterations permit in 2025.

  1. 2013 3 L&I violationsL&IInspection failed ×2L&I visit
  2. 2014 Inspection failedL&I visit
  3. 2015 $46KSold
  4. 2025 AlterationsPermit

Browse the source ledger

The chart above is the primary timeline. This drawer preserves every underlying dated row and its filed status for source-level review.

Open the City record ↗
Browse 7 dated records deeds, permits, inspections, licenses, violations, certifications & appeals
  1. PermitAlterations

    Permit PP-2025-005744 · Completed

    REPLACE CURB TRAP & FAI

  2. Recorded transfer$46K transfer

    2015

  3. InvestigationPRECOURT (likely: pre-court compliance inspection)

    Case 409502 · FAILED

    A follow-up before or during enforcement escalation; confirm the case sequence in the City file. The cited inspection visit was marked failed; later rows may show follow-up or resolution.

  4. InvestigationHCEU INSP (Housing Code Enforcement Unit inspection)

    Case 409502 · CLOSED

    A legacy L&I inspection label. The unit inspected housing for property-maintenance, fire-prevention, and related code compliance; the separate status says how that visit ended. City marked the record closed; open the case for the closing reason.

  5. ViolationEXT S-WINDOW REPAIR/MAINTAIN (Repair or maintain exterior windows)

    Case 409502 · Violation 3166160 · CLOSEDCASE

    City marked the case closed; that does not mean the original condition never existed.

  6. ViolationEXT A-MOTOR VEH MUST BE REMOV

    Case 409502 · Violation 3166158 · CLOSEDCASE

    City marked the case closed; that does not mean the original condition never existed.

  7. ViolationEXT S-WALLS REPAIR/MAINTAIN

    Case 409502 · Violation 3166159 · CLOSEDCASE

    City marked the case closed; that does not mean the original condition never existed.

What this record suggests

The City file documents 1 permit touching plumbing. 1 carries a completed, issued, or approved status; that documents the filing, not the present quality of the work.

Flags: historical tax ledger through 2016 recorded $229 with a lien entry. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).

The property, on paper

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

Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
2
Interior
1,324 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,245 sqft
Basement
Partial, semi-finished
city code F
Heat
Hot water / radiators
city code B
Garage
1 space
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
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 1540 E Cheltenham Ave takes, at your price and your rate. Taxes start with an annual estimate from the City’s taxable assessment, not a current bill or balance; rent starts at the area median. Assessed value is not an asking price — set the price slider to the real one.

$190K
20%
6.875%
$700/mo

When this house last sold (2015) a 30-year mortgage ran about 3.85% — 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 use this parcel's taxable assessment, not a live Tax Center balance.

Block context

1540 E Cheltenham Ave sits on the 1500 block of E Cheltenham Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.

See the whole block →

Next door: 1538 E Cheltenham Ave  ·  1542 E Cheltenham Ave

Where this comes from
Methodology & freshness

This report was assembled Jul 10, 2026, 1:48 AM ET. Available City datasets are queried from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and the cited City ArcGIS feeds; record queries paginate rather than silently taking a first page. For this property: Permits: queried · Violations: queried · Investigations: queried · Appeals: queried · Licenses: queried · Building certifications: queried. “Unavailable” means the source query failed or was not supplied, not “no record.” Reports re-pull on view after seven days and on an overnight rolling schedule; citywide benchmarks recompute weekly. Source dates still govern: the parcel-level tax-delinquency snapshot is June 2022 and the separate detailed tax ledger ends in 2016, so neither establishes today’s balance. The live balance and date-effective payoff must be verified in Tax Center. AI-written passages are grounded in the assembled record and rejected if they state a number the record does not hold.

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