2026 taxable assessment $293,700 × 1.3998%. Estimate—not a bill or account balance.
OPA also publishes a 2027 assessment of $320,600; it is not the 2026 billed-year value.
House report
769 S 20th St
Owner-occupied · assessed $294K (2026) · 2027 OPA assessment $321K · sold 3×. On the 700 block of S 20th St.
Property summary
Assessment$293,7002026 OPA assessment · 2027: $320,600
Last sale$1.2MRecorded 2025
Est. tax bill$4,111/year2026 taxable assessment × 1.3998%
Tax delinquency$19KCity snapshot · Jun 2022
Permits8Dated events in report
Violations0 openNo historical match in fetched records
“Open” reflects records available then historical records keep their source dates estimates are labeled
BlockReport AI · cited public records
Ask the questions this record raises.
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Question or correct this record
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Property tax
The estimate, live balance, and back-tax record are different.
BlockReport can calculate the annual tax from the City’s taxable assessment. Payments, credits, interest, and a current amount due live separately in Philadelphia Tax Center.
A Tax Center balance is net of bills, payments, credits, interest, and adjustments. A credit—or an amount due—is not automatically “back taxes.”
OPA 3014101002026 taxable assessment equals the full assessed value.
Historical delinquency sources Record found
$18,671.28 was recorded for this parcel in Philadelphia's June 2022 delinquency snapshot. That amount may have been paid, reduced, or increased since; it is not a current payoff figure.
A separate historical parcel ledger ending in 2016 records $4,712.25 and a lien entry. It is shown as historical context only.
2015$2,458.57 total · $1,900.18 principal · $199.52 interest · $133.01 penalty2016$2,253.68 total · $1,989.67 principal · $29.84 interest · $19.90 penalty
For a purchase, refinance, or closing, request the City’s official Property Payoff statement in Tax Center under “More options.”
What stands out
From the public recordTorn down & rebuilt
Why it mattersdemolished and rebuilt (2023), then sold for $1.2M in 2025.
View supporting records →No interior square footage on file
Why it mattersThe record carries a $321K assessment but no livable area — the number square footage math is normally built on. Per-square-foot comparisons for this property aren't possible from the public record.
View supporting records →Assessment and sale price disagree hard
Why it mattersAssessed at $321K, but it traded for $1,200,000 in 2025 — a 3.7× gap. Could be a non-market deed the record doesn't label, or an assessment that hasn't caught up.
View supporting records →City Property History
Fetched L&I and zoning records
Every row successfully fetched for this report is counted below. Dataset availability and matching can differ from the City's interactive file; use the official link for current detail.
- Recorded owner
- Steven Rothenberg
- Tax mailing address
- 769 S 20TH ST, PHILADELPHIA PA, 19146
- L&I district
- —
- Building ID (BIN)
- —
- OPA account
- 301410100
Permits0Unavailable
Violation cases0Unavailable
Investigations0Unavailable
Building certifications0Unavailable
Business licenses0Unavailable
Appeals1OPEN · Granted with conditions
PermitsPermit number, issued date, work and City status0
No permits matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
Violation cases0 individual violation records; resolved history remains visible0
No violation cases matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
InvestigationsEvery inspector visit, including CLOSED outcomes0
No investigations matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
Building certificationsInspection result and filed expiration date by L&I building ID0
No building certifications matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
Business licensesHistorical and active licenses are both retained0
No business licenses matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
AppealsApplication status and decision are separate City fields1
Zoning board appealAppeal 35680
Feb 13, 2019 OPEN Granted with conditions
PERMIT FOR THE ERECTION OF AN ATTACHED STRUCTURE WITH ROOF DECK AND ROOF DECK ACCESS STUCTURE. FOR USE AS THREE (3) DWELLING UNITS (MULTI-FAMILY HOUSEHOLD LIVING). SIZE AND LOCATION AS SHOWN ON APPLICATION / PLANS.
City of Philadelphia OPA, L&I and Zoning Board records, shown as filed. A CLOSED investigation is an outcome label, not a missing visit; an appeal's application status and decision may differ.
Legal due diligence
What this record proves—and what it does not.
These checks are triggered by this property’s actual City rows. They identify the controlling document to verify; they do not declare a use legal, a building safe, or title clear.
1 resolve before relying
Resolve before relyingZoning approval is not the occupancy fileAppeal #35680: OPEN · Granted with conditions.
Why it mattersPhiladelphia says a zoning approval or Property Sales Certification can identify a use without proving that it was established under the Building Code. A change of use, unit count, exits, or fire rating can require a Building Permit and Certificate of Occupancy.
Verify nextVerify the lawful use, unit count, associated construction permits, and Certificate of Occupancy with L&I.
Open the controlling City guidance ↗Closing file: checks no public-record summary can replace5 documents/searches to assign before settlement
Property Sales Certification
The seller must obtain Philadelphia’s certificate showing the base zoning, last use in the zoning record, and open violations. The City warns that it does not prove Building Code occupancy or show zoning overlays.
Next: Obtain the fresh certificate and compare it with the CO, permits, and Atlas overlays.
Official guidance ↗Date-effective City Property Payoff
The Tax Center Property Payoff covers Real Estate Tax, Commercial Trash, and L&I abatement-work invoices. Philadelphia says it does not include business-tax debts or liens, water and sewer charges, or fines for code violations.
Next: Request the City statement effective through settlement; read every period and invoice.
Official guidance ↗Professional title and water-lien searches
OPA ownership, deed summaries, and a zero tax balance are not clear title. Mortgages, judgments, municipal claims, water liens, easements, heirs, and other encumbrances require separate searches.
Next: Use a Pennsylvania lawyer/title company and obtain owner’s title insurance; order the separate water search/payoff.
Official guidance ↗Separate water-lien guidance ↗Seller-specific tax relief is not the buyer’s bill
LOOP and low-income or senior Real Estate Tax freezes depend on the qualifying owner and continued program eligibility; a buyer cannot assume the seller’s capped or frozen bill continues. A separately verified property abatement often remains with the property for its remaining term, but program-specific new-owner filing, use, and tax-compliance conditions still must be confirmed—not inferred from the reduced assessment alone.
Next: Have Revenue or OPA identify every current benefit, model the buyer’s bill without seller-specific relief, and confirm any verified abatement in writing.
Official guidance ↗Separate water-lien guidance ↗Seller disclosure and independent inspections
For a covered Pennsylvania residential transfer, obtain the statutory seller disclosure. It reports the seller’s knowledge; it is not a warranty, title search, code review, or substitute for inspections.
Next: Have the agreement and disclosure reviewed for this transaction’s coverage and exceptions.
Official guidance ↗Informational only—not a legal opinion, title report, code inspection, tax payoff, or substitute for a Pennsylvania lawyer, title company, inspector, or tax professional.
Records to verify together
Rule-based groupings across this property's dated public records. Each flag shows the records that belong in the same verification step and where the inference stops.
Records to verify together
More than one separately dated public record deserves a current-status check.
Evidence: $18,671 appeared in the City's June 2022 delinquency snapshot · a lien number appears in the historical tax ledger through 2016 · failed L&I inspection activity in 2021, 2022, 2023
Limit: A screening signal, not a foreclosure prediction. Tax entries are historical and must be verified with Philadelphia Revenue.
Transparent record rules, not a score or forecast. Each flag is a prompt to verify the cited records, not a prediction or allegation.
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 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.
$4,712 in the historical tax ledger through 2016
Historical context only, not a current payoff figure; that ledger also contains a lien entry. Verify today's balance and lien status directly with Philadelphia Revenue before relying on it.
Derived from the fetched property records and linked City guidance as of 2026. Assessment treatment is not a substitute for an exemption approval, live balance, title report, license, occupancy certificate, or inspection. 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 record to dig into any number.
Assessed value
$293,700
2026 billed-year assessment · 2027: $320,600
Price / sq ft
—
block $369 ·
Appreciation
+72%
+5%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$321K
+5%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax bill / yr
$4,111
1.28% effective
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
$19K
recorded then · verify current
Gross yield
6.4%
≈$2K/mo rent
Times sold
3
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangeSalePermit
The paper trail
Torn down & rebuiltdemolished and rebuilt (2023), then sold for $1.2M in 2025.
- 2023 $380KSold3 L&I violationsL&IInspection failed ×4L&I visitNew construction, addition, GFA changePermitNew ConstructionPermit
- 2024 New ConstructionPermitNew ConstructionPermitNew Construction or AdditionsPermitNew Construction or AdditionsPermitNew ConstructionPermitNew Construction or AdditionsPermit
- 2025 $1.2MSold
Flags: $19K recorded in the June 2022 delinquency snapshot — verify current balance · historical tax ledger through 2016 recorded $5K with a lien entry · 1 zoning/board appeal on record. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
The property, on paper
The city assessor's field record — the physical spec sheet behind the assessed number.
Lot
992 sqft
Zoning
RM1
city zoning code
Zoning appeals
1
OPEN · Granted with conditions · 2019
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Where the record looks off
Places where the city's own paperwork disagrees with itself. These are flags on the data — not problems with the property.
No interior square footage on file
The record carries a $321K assessment but no livable area — the number square footage math is normally built on. Per-square-foot comparisons for this property aren't possible from the public record.
Assessment and sale price disagree hard
Assessed at $321K, but it traded for $1,200,000 in 2025 — a 3.7× gap. Could be a non-market deed the record doesn't label, or an assessment that hasn't caught up.
Run the numbers
What owning 769 S 20th St takes, at your price and your rate. Taxes start with an annual estimate from the City’s taxable assessment, not a current bill or balance; 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 (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, $1,400/yr insurance, 1% of price/yr maintenance; taxes use this parcel's taxable assessment, not a live Tax Center balance.
Block context
769 S 20th St sits on the 700 block of S 20th St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 767 S 20th St · 771 S 20th 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
- Tax delinquency snapshot · June 2022 — Real Estate Tax Delinquencies, Dept. of Revenue
- Historical tax ledger & liens · through 2016 — Real Estate Tax Balances, Dept. of Revenue
- Current property-tax balance — Verify with Philadelphia 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
Methodology & freshness
This report was assembled Jul 9, 2026, 11:35 AM ET. Available City datasets are queried from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and the cited City ArcGIS feeds; record queries paginate rather than silently taking a first page. “Unavailable” means the source query failed or was not supplied, not “no record.” Reports re-pull on view after seven days and on an overnight rolling schedule; citywide benchmarks recompute weekly. Source dates still govern: the parcel-level tax-delinquency snapshot is June 2022 and the separate detailed tax ledger ends in 2016, so neither establishes today’s balance. The live balance and date-effective payoff must be verified in Tax Center. AI-written passages are grounded in the assembled record and rejected if they state a number the record does not hold.
Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)