Two Party Walls Instead of One
An end-of-row house is attached on one side. A mid-block Kensington house is attached on two, and demolishing it means exposing walls that carry the floors and roofs of the properties either side. Both have to be protected, sometimes underpinned, and their owners have to co-operate.
On lots this narrow the practical difficulty compounds. Equipment often cannot reach the rear at all, material comes in and debris goes out through the front, and there is nowhere on site to stage anything. The citywide rules are on our page covering Pennsylvania disclosure, bad faith and transfer tax.
Why Is Demolition So Expensive on a Kensington Row Home?
Which Makes the Shell Worth Keeping
Most of the housing dates from the 1880s through the 1920s, two storeys, on lots frequently under 16 feet wide. The realty transfer tax is 3.578% city plus 1% Commonwealth, a combined 4.578% due within 30 days after the deed reaches the Department of Records. An unsafe or imminently dangerous notice under Philadelphia Code PM-108.1 or PM-110.1 carries a 6 day appeal window rather than 30.
These are brick houses, mostly two storeys, largely from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. An interior fire frequently burns out the joists, roof and finishes while leaving the brick party walls and front wall standing and sound.
That shell is worth more here than the framing cost it saves, because it avoids the demolition described above entirely. In Kensington the structural question is therefore the whole question, and it is a licensed engineer's answer rather than a contractor's or a buyer's.
What Should I Establish Before Taking Offers?
We publish no demolition figures for Kensington. On attached property they vary enormously with position in the row, access and the condition of the adjoining structures. Any quote given without someone having looked at the party walls and the rear access is a placeholder.
The City File Runs Alongside
Kensington carries a high concentration of properties already in the Licenses and Inspections system, which means a fire here more often lands on a property with a violation history rather than a clean file.
That matters twice. It shortens the distance to an unsafe or imminently dangerous designation, where the appeal window is 6 days rather than 30. And it raises the likelihood of unpaid municipal charges that will clear from your proceeds at settlement.
Kensington in Context
The South Philadelphia row grid, where the same shell logic applies against stronger infill demand, is covered on our page about a South Philadelphia row home grid. Where houses are semi-detached and the party wall problem halves, see our page for Victorian twins and larger houses.
Kensington Questions
My House Is Mid-Block With No Rear Access.
That is the expensive case for any clearance and the strongest argument for restoring if the brick allows it. It is also why offers on your street vary more than the damage explains.
The City Already Had Violations on the Property.
Then the file is active, which shortens the distance to an unsafe designation and its 6 day appeal window. Establish what is outstanding before taking offers.
Will You Buy a Two-Storey Shell?
Yes, and a sound shell is usually the case we pay best on, because it is the expensive part to replace.