Public Records
Edition
Philadelphia2700 block of Emerald StJuly 9, 2026

House report

2780-84 Emerald St

Vacant · assessed $67K · sold 2×. On the 2700 block of Emerald St.

Street view of 2780-84 Emerald St
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar
The story of this houseAI · written from the public record

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

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.)

If you own it

$2,397 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.

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.

Assessed value
$67K
Price / sq ft
block $75 ·
Appreciation
+358%
+15%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$68K
+15%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$942
1.4% effective
Gross yield
Times sold
2
kept in the family

Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line

$0$50K$100K2017: Sold $21K2019: Sold $70K2023: L&I violation2024: New construction, addition, GFA change 2024: Appeal granted 2024: L&I violation2025: L&I violation2026: L&I violation$67K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangeSaleL&I violation
The paper trail

Bought for $21K in 2017, built new under a 2024 permit, sold for $70K in 2019.

  1. 2017 $21KSold
  2. 2019 $70KSold
  3. 2023 L&I violationL&I
  4. 2024 New construction, addition, GFA changePermitAppeal grantedZoningL&I violationL&I
  5. 2025 L&I violationL&I
  6. 2026 L&I violationL&I

Flags: $2K back taxes (2006–2016, $443 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.

Lot
1,992 sqft
Zoning
RSA5
city zoning code
Zoning appeals
1
granted 2024

OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.

Run the numbers

What owning 2780-84 Emerald 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.

$67K
20%
6.875%
$700/mo

When this house last sold (2019) a 30-year mortgage ran about 3.94% — 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.

Next door: 2778 Emerald St  ·  2776 Emerald St

Where this comes from

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.

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