House report
642 Carpenter St
4 bd · 4 ba · 3 stories · 2,115 sqft · RSA5 · built 1915
Owner-occupied · assessed $722K · sold 3×. On the 600 block of Carpenter 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 $4,834/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It steps up every year and reaches about $10,105/yr in 2034 — $5,271/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.
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 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
An abated home cannot also take the Homestead Exemption. From 2034 it can — knocking about $1,400/yr off the full bill.
If you’re the landlord
Built 1915: 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
Bought for $76K in 2002, built new under a 2021 permit (tax-abated), sold for $855K in 2023.
- 2002 $76KSold$76KSold
- 2015 3 L&I violationsL&I
- 2021 New construction, addition, GFA changePermitAddition and/or AlterationPermit
- 2022 AlterationsPermitAddition and/or AlterationPermitAlterationsPermitAddition and/or AlterationsPermit
- 2023 $855KSold
Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value · active rental license · long-held within one family. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
The abatement clock
This house pays about $4,834/yr under a 10-year tax abatement that steps down every year. In 2034 the bill reaches its full ~$10,105/yr — a step up of $5,271/yr, 7 assessment years out. Drag the slider.
now: ($721,900 assessed − $376,565 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $4,834/yr
2034: $721,900 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $10,105/yr
The abated slice shrinks ~10% a year (post-2022 program, started 2024) — 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 642 Carpenter 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 (2023) a 30-year mortgage ran about 6.81% — 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: 642r Carpenter St · 640 Carpenter 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 642 Carpenter 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.
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.
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)