New construction
Why it mattersBought for $5K in 2019, built new under a 2021 permit, sold for $40K in 2024.
View supporting records →House report
2159 N 21st St
3 bd · 3 ba · 3 stories · 1,929 sqft · RSA5 · built 1915
Investor / LLC · assessed $84K · sold 2×. On the 2100 block of N 21st St.
Property summary
Assessment$84KCity assessed value
Last sale$40KRecorded 2024
Est. taxes$1K/yearAnnual city record
Permits3Shown in this report
ViolationsNone openNo open L&I cases
What stands out
From the public recordMarked sealed, but it just sold
Why it mattersThe assessor's condition code says sealed, yet a $40,000 sale was recorded in 2024. One side of the record is stale — condition codes come from drive-by field visits that can lag years behind.
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 1915: 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
$2,679 in back taxes on record
Interest and penalties keep compounding until a Revenue payment agreement is in place, and a lien is already filed — an owner-occupant agreement also stops the sheriff-sale track.
If you’re the landlord
No active rental license on file
If this property is rented, Philadelphia requires a Rental License (via eCLIPSE) — without it a landlord cannot legally collect rent or evict, and tenants can withhold. Licensing needs tax clearance and no open violations.
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.
Who's behind it
Clark Provisions LLC · corporate / LLC owner
• Tax bills mail to 6024 Ridge Ave Ste #116 Po Box 124, Philadelphia PA, 19128
• The last transfer was a nominal/family deed, not an open-market sale
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
$84K
built 1915
Price / sq ft
$43
block $87 · below block
Appreciation
+201%
+11%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$84K
+11%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$1K
1.4% effective
Gross yield
11.1%
≈$778/mo rent
Times sold
2
kept in the family
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangeSaleL&I violationZoningPermitInspection
The paper trail
New constructionBought for $5K in 2019, built new under a 2021 permit, sold for $40K in 2024.
- 2017 2 L&I violationsL&I
- 2019 $5KSold4 L&I violationsL&IInspection failedL&I visit
- 2020 Inspection failed ×4L&I visit
- 2021 New construction, addition, GFA changePermitAppeal completeZoning
- 2022 Interior Non-Load-Bearing Wall Demo.PermitInspection failed ×4L&I visitAddition and/or AlterationPermit
- 2024 Inspection failedL&I visit$40KSold
Flags: $3K back taxes (2013–2016, $353 of it interest & penalties, lien filed) · 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.
Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
3
Stories
3
Interior
1,929 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,181 sqft
Basement
Full
city code D
Exterior condition
Sealed / compromised
city code 7
Sealed / compromised
Interior condition
Sealed / compromised
city code 7
Sealed / compromised
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
ABCDE
Zoning
RSA5
city zoning code
Zoning appeals
1
complete 2021
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Where the record looks off
Places where the city's own paperwork disagrees with itself. These are flags on the data — not problems with the property.
Marked sealed, but it just sold
The assessor's condition code says sealed, yet a $40,000 sale was recorded in 2024. One side of the record is stale — condition codes come from drive-by field visits that can lag years behind.
Run the numbers
What owning 2159 N 21st St 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 (2024) a 30-year mortgage ran about 6.72% — 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
2159 N 21st St sits on the 2100 block of N 21st St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 2157 N 21st St · 2161 N 21st St
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
- Imagery — Street photo © Google · Aerial © Esri, Maxar
Methodology & freshness
City datasets are fetched live from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and cached briefly. Dossiers re-pull automatically — on view once they're a few weeks old, plus a nightly rolling sweep — 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 2159 N 21st St,
on paper.
Built 1915. 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)