Public Records
Edition
Philadelphia1800 block of N Bucknell StJuly 9, 2026

House report

1803 N Bucknell St

3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 870 sqft · RSA5 · built 1915

Investor / LLC · assessed $137K. On the 1800 block of N Bucknell St.

Street view of 1803 N Bucknell St
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

The tax bill is temporary

Today's $949/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It steps up every year and reaches about $1,911/yr in 2035 — $962/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.

Built 1915: 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

$1,539 in back taxes on record

Interest and penalties keep compounding until a Revenue payment agreement is in place, and a lien is already filed — an owner-occupant agreement also stops the sheriff-sale track.

If you’re the landlord

Lead certificate is not optional

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.

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.

Who's behind it

Philadelphia Lotus 04a LLC · corporate / LLC owner

• Owns 88 properties across Philadelphia under this name, assessed at $14M combined
• Holds an active rental license for this address
• The last transfer was a nominal/family deed, not an open-market sale

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
$137K
built 1915
Price / sq ft
$157
block $92 · above block
Appreciation
+861%
+23%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$138K
+23%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$949
0.7% effective, abated
Gross yield
Times sold
0
kept in the family

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

$0$100K$200K2019: Electrical 2019: Mechanical 2019: Alteration 2019: Electrical 2019: Plumbing$137K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangePermit
The paper trail

built new under a 2019 permit (tax-abated).

  1. 2019 ElectricalPermitMechanicalPermitAlterationPermitElectricalPermitPlumbingPermit

Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value · active rental license · $2K back taxes (2014–2016, $158 of it interest & penalties, lien filed) · long-held within one family. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).

The abatement clock

This house pays about $949/yr under a 10-year tax abatement that steps down every year. In 2035 the bill reaches its full ~$1,911/yr — a step up of $962/yr, 8 assessment years out. Drag the slider.

2016: ~$199/yr2017: ~$199/yr2018: ~$199/yr2019: ~$354/yr2020: ~$365/yr2021: ~$365/yr2022: ~$365/yr2023: ~$927/yr2024: ~$927/yr2025: ~$1,078/yr2026: ~$1,078/yr2027: ~$949/yr2028: ~$1,069/yr (projected)2029: ~$1,190/yr (projected)2030: ~$1,310/yr (projected)2031: ~$1,430/yr (projected)2032: ~$1,550/yr (projected)2033: ~$1,671/yr (projected)2034: ~$1,791/yr (projected)2035: ~$1,911/yr (projected)2036: ~$1,911/yr (projected)201620352036
2027~$949/yrfrom the record

now: ($136,500 assessed − $68,705 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $949/yr 2035: $136,500 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $1,911/yr The abated slice shrinks ~10% a year (post-2022 program, started 2025) — 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.

Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
2
Interior
870 sqft
livable area
Lot
659 sqft
Exterior condition
Above average
city code 3
Interior condition
New / rehabbed
city code 2
New / rehabbed
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 1803 N Bucknell 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.

$137K
20%
6.875%
$975/mo
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 (with the abatement toggle above).

Next door: 1801 N Bucknell St  ·  1805 N Bucknell St

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)