This modest 1925 rowhouse traded three times between 2004 and 2012, riding the pre-recession wave from $185K to $360K, then fell silent for over a decade — no permits, no recorded sales — while a single owner built equity from that last purchase price to a $520K assessment. The absence of any renovation permit over the years suggests the assessment jump reflects the city's catch-up with the neighborhood rather than any work done to the house, which the assessor's C grade and average condition rating still confirm.
Rule-based groupings across this property's dated public records. Each flag shows the records that belong in the same verification step and where the inference stops.
Dated record flagAssessment/permit mismatch
The assessment jumped 53% in 2027, but no matching permit appears in the property timeline.
Evidence: assessment moved from $340,000 to $519,800 · no permit shown in 2026-2028
Limit: Not proof of unpermitted work; reassessment, corrected data, or a permit under another parcel can also explain it.
Transparent record rules, not a score or forecast. Each flag is a prompt to verify the cited records, not a prediction or allegation.
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 1925: 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.
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.)
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
$520K
built 1925
Price / sq ft
$399
block $475 · below block
Appreciation
+188%
+10%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$522K
+10%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$6K
1.13% effective
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
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Gross yield
—
Times sold
3
kept in the family
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangePermit
The paper trail
Renovated & sold on
Bought for $185K in 2004, plumbing permit in 2010, sold for $360K in 2012 (+94%).
2004$185KSold
2008$348KSold
2010PlumbingPermit
2012$360KSold
2016PlumbingPermit
Flags: 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.
Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
2
Interior
1,304 sqft
livable area
Lot
750 sqft
Heat
Forced hot air
city code A
Central air
Yes
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
ABCDE
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 2126 Pemberton St 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.
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
2126 Pemberton St sits on the 2100 block of Pemberton St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
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.
