Improved
Why it mattersBought for $265K in 2005. Owner pulled a addition and/or alteration permit in 2020.
View supporting records →Mixed-use report
1920 Cottman Ave
2,159 sqft · CMX1 · built 1958
Absentee individual · assessed $341K · sold 1×. On the 1900 block of Cottman Ave.
Property summary
Assessment$341KCity assessed value
Last sale$265KRecorded 2005 · later nominal deed
Est. taxes$5K/yearAnnual city record
Permits2Shown in this report
ViolationsNone openNo open L&I cases
What stands out
From the public recordWhat 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
Built 1958: 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.
The last transfer was not a sale
The most recent recorded deed moved for nominal consideration. 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
$8,484 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
No active rental license on file
If this property is rented, Philadelphia requires a Rental License (via eCLIPSE) — without it a landlord cannot legally collect rent or evict, and tenants can withhold. Licensing needs tax clearance and no open violations.
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 building 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
$341K
built 1958
Price / sq ft
$158
block $158 · in line w/ block
Appreciation
+40%
+3%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$342K
+3%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$5K
1.4% effective
Gross yield
-2345353.3%
≈$-667M/mo rent
Times sold
1
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangeL&I violationPermitInspection
The paper trail
ImprovedBought for $265K in 2005. Owner pulled a addition and/or alteration permit in 2020.
- 2005 $265KSold
- 2012 L&I violationL&I
- 2014 3 L&I violationsL&IInspection failed ×3L&I visit
- 2015 L&I violationL&IInspection failedL&I visit
- 2018 Inspection passed ×2L&I visit
- 2019 UsePermit
- 2020 3 L&I violationsL&IAddition and/or AlterationPermitL&I: 2 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
Flags: $8K back taxes (2015–2016, $640 of it interest & penalties, lien filed). Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
The house, on paper
The city assessor's field record — the physical spec sheet behind the assessed number.
Interior
2,159 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,961 sqft
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
ABCDE
Zoning
CMX1
city zoning code
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Run the numbers
What owning 1920 Cottman Ave 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.
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.
Block context
1920 Cottman Ave sits on the 1900 block of Cottman Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 1918 Cottman Ave · 1922 Cottman Ave
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
Methodology & freshness
City datasets are fetched live from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and cached briefly. Dossiers re-pull automatically — on view once they're a few weeks old, plus a nightly rolling sweep — and citywide benchmarks recompute weekly. 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 1920 Cottman Ave,
on paper.
Built 1958. 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.
Permits, violations, taxes, deeds, ownership, and block context are all here. The public record is free to read; membership is for deeper research.
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)