The Block Report

Multi-family report

421 S 17th St

6 bd · 3 stories · 3,672 sqft · RM1 · built 1800

Absentee individual · assessed $1.2M · 4 licensed units · sold 1×. On the 400 block of S 17th St.

Street view of 421 S 17th St
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

Property summary

Assessment$1.2MCity assessed value Last sale$1.0MRecorded 2025 Est. annual tax$17K/yearAssessment × 1.3998% Tax delinquencyNo 2022 matchNot proof account is current Permits1Shown in this report ViolationsNone openNo open L&I cases

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 1800: 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.

If you’re the landlord

Lead certificate is not optional

Built 1800: 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.

Licensed rental — keep it that way

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 building 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
$1.2M
built 1800
Price / sq ft
$324
block $417 · below block
Appreciation
+101%
+7%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$1.2M
+7%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$17K
1.4% effective
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
No match
not proof the account is current
Gross yield
1.8%
≈$2K/mo rent
Times sold
1
kept in the family

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

$0$1.0M$2.0MBefore this chart — 2009: 4 L&I violations 2009: Inspection failed 2010: L&I violation 2010: L&I: 6 failed, 1 passed 2011: Inspection failed 2013: 2 L&I violations 2013: L&I: 1 failed, 1 passed 2015: Alteration2025: Sold $1.0M2026: L&I violation$1.2M201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangeSaleL&I violationPermit

The paper trail

Improved

Bought for $1.0M in 2025. Owner pulled a alteration permit in 2015.

  1. 2009 4 L&I violationsL&IInspection failedL&I visit
  2. 2010 L&I violationL&IL&I: 6 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
  3. 2011 Inspection failedL&I visit
  4. 2013 2 L&I violationsL&IL&I: 1 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
  5. 2015 AlterationPermit
  6. 2025 $1.0MSold
  7. 2026 L&I violationL&I

Flags: active rental license · 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
6
Stories
3
Interior
3,672 sqft
livable area
Lot
918 sqft
Basement
Full
city code D
Heat
Electric baseboard
city code C
Central air
No
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Above average
city code 3
Quality grade
B
assessor's grade
Zoning
RM1
city zoning code

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

Run the numbers

What owning 421 S 17th St takes, at your price and your rate. Taxes are this building's actual bill from the city record; rent starts at 4 licensed units × ~85% of the area's median unit rent — the whole building's income, not one unit's. Assessed value is not an asking price — set the price slider to the real one.

$1.0M
20%
6.875%
$6K/mo

When this house last sold (2025) a 30-year mortgage ran about 6.6% — 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, $2,800/yr insurance, 1% of price/yr maintenance; taxes from this parcel's record.

Block context

421 S 17th St sits on the 400 block of S 17th St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.

See the whole block →

Next door: 419 S 17th St  ·  417 S 17th St

Where this comes from

Methodology & freshness

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.

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