Public Records
Edition
Philadelphia500 block of W Moyamensing AveJuly 9, 2026

House report

520 W Moyamensing Ave

3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 980 sqft · RSA5 · built 1920

Owner-occupied · assessed $236K · sold 1×. On the 500 block of W Moyamensing Ave.

Street view of 520 W Moyamensing Ave
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

Built 1920: 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.)

If you own it

$1,399/yr may be unclaimed

This home reads owner-occupied but shows no Homestead Exemption, which removes $100,000 from the taxable assessment (worth up to $1,399/yr). Applying through the City is free and takes minutes.

If you’re the landlord

Lead certificate is not optional

Built 1920: 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 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
$236K
built 1920
Price / sq ft
$241
block $203 · above block
Appreciation
+273%
+13%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$238K
+13%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$3K
1.4% effective
Gross yield
Times sold
1
kept in the family

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

$0$125K$250K2018: 3 L&I violations incl EXTERIOR STRUCTURALLY UNSAFE2019: Sold $92K 2019: 3 L&I violations 2019: Addition and/or Alteration 2019: Alterations 2019: New Construction2020: Addition and/or Alteration2023: 2 L&I violations$236K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangeSaleL&I violationPermit
The paper trail

built new under a 2019 permit, sold for $92K in 2019.

  1. 2018 3 L&I violations incl EXTERIOR STRUCTURALLY UNSAFEL&I
  2. 2019 $92KSold3 L&I violationsL&IAddition and/or AlterationPermitAlterationsPermitNew ConstructionPermit
  3. 2020 Addition and/or AlterationPermit
  4. 2023 2 L&I violationsL&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
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
2
Interior
980 sqft
livable area
Lot
658 sqft
Basement
Full, finished
city code A
Heat
Electric baseboard
city code C
Central air
No
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Above average
city code 3
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
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 520 W Moyamensing Ave 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.

$236K
20%
6.875%
$2K/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: 518 W Moyamensing Ave  ·  522 W Moyamensing Ave

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)