House report

838 Cantrell St

Vacant · assessed $84K · sold 3×. On the 800 block of Cantrell St.

From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

The story of this houseAI · written from the public record

Reading this house's deeds, permits and assessments…

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

$84K

Price / sq ft

—

block $231 ·

Appreciation

+1%

+0%/yr, city 6.5%

In 5 years (~2031)

~$84K

+0%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast

Est. tax / yr

$1K

1.4% effective

Gross yield

-9569378%

≈$-667M/mo rent

Times sold

Value vs. the block, over time

This houseBlock median & range

The paper trailImproved

Bought for $70K in 2006. Owner pulled a minor demolition permit in 2021.

2006 $70KSold
2020 4 L&I violationsL&IInspection failed ×3L&I visit
2021 $70KSold6 L&I violations incl INTERIOR UNSAFE GENERALL&IInspection failed ×3L&I visitMinor DemolitionPermitDemolishedTeardown
2022 $57KSoldL&I: 2 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
2025 2 L&I violationsL&IL&I: 2 failed, 1 passedL&I visit

Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).

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.

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.

Run the numbers

What owning 838 Cantrell 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.

Purchase price$84K

Down payment20%

Mortgage rate6.875%

Monthly rent$700/mo

When this house last sold (2022) a 30-year mortgage ran about 5.34% — 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: 836 Cantrell St · 840 Cantrell 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

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.

I research this house across Philadelphia's live records — assessments, deeds, permits, violations, taxes, licenses, zoning appeals, schools, crime, and 311. Tap a question below to try me free; your own questions come with membership (free to start).

About this data & fine print

Answers are generated by an AI agent querying City of Philadelphia open data at the moment you ask: OPA property assessments, Recorder of Deeds transfer records, L&I permits, violations & licenses, Dept. of Revenue tax balances, Zoning Board appeals, Police incident reports, Philly311 requests, and School District of Philadelphia catchment and school data.

City data is published as-is and can lag, contain errors, or be corrected later; school performance datasets run years behind and are labeled with their school year. AI answers can contain mistakes — verify anything that matters against the official record (property.phila.gov, atlas.phila.gov) before acting on it.

Informational only. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Not a consumer report under the FCRA — it may not be used to decide anyone's eligibility for housing, tenancy, employment, credit, or insurance.

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