House report
235 Chestnut St
5 stories · 20,745 sqft · CMX3 · built 1857
Absentee individual · assessed $7.4M. On the 200 block of Chestnut St.
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
Today's $20,830/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It steps up every year and reaches about $104,152/yr in 2033 — $83,322/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.
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.
If you own it
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.
If you’re the landlord
Built 1857: every rental unit needs a lead-safe or lead-free certificate on file with the City. Without one: fines up to $2,000/day per unit, tenants may withhold rent, courts can order rent refunded — and no eviction will stand.
Renewal requires city tax clearance and zero open L&I violations on the property. A lapsed license suspends the right to collect rent or evict.
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.
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
built new under a 2018 permit (tax-abated).
- 2018 Major alterationPermit4 L&I violations incl UNSAFE STRUCTUREL&I
- 2019 Addition and/or AlterationPermitAlterationsPermitNew ConstructionPermit
- 2020 New ConstructionPermitRough-InPermitNew ConstructionPermit
- 2022 Addition and/or AlterationsPermitL&I violationL&I
- 2025 L&I violationL&I
- 2026 4 L&I violationsL&I
Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value · active rental license. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
The abatement clock
This house pays about $20,830/yr under a 10-year tax abatement that steps down every year. In 2033 the bill reaches its full ~$104,152/yr — a step up of $83,322/yr, 6 assessment years out. Drag the slider.
now: ($7,440,500 assessed − $5,952,430 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $20,830/yr
2033: $7,440,500 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $104,152/yr
The abated slice shrinks ~10% a year (post-2022 program, started 2023) — reassessments move both lines. After expiry an owner-occupant can claim the Homestead Exemption (~$1,400/yr off); an abated home can't hold both.
The house, on paper
The city assessor's field record — the physical spec sheet behind the assessed number.
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Run the numbers
What owning 235 Chestnut 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 (1999) a 30-year mortgage ran about 7.44% — Freddie Mac's average that year.
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 (with the abatement toggle above).
Next door: 233 Chestnut St · 233 Chestnut 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
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.
First time here?
This is 235 Chestnut St,
on paper.
Built 1857. Every deed, permit, L&I visit, tax bill and sale for this house — plus its whole block.
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Who owns what, what they paid, what they built, what they owe. Scroll and it's all here — the paid part is not the data.
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Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)