New construction
Why it mattersbuilt new under a 2020 permit (tax-abated), sold for $4K in 2003.
View supporting records →House report
1938 W Hilton St
3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 784 sqft · RSA5 · built 1939
Owner-occupied · assessed $64K · sold 1×. On the 1900 block of W Hilton St.
Property summary
Assessment$64KCity assessed value
Last sale$4KRecorded 2003
Est. taxes$0/yearTax-exempt record
Permits1Shown in this report
ViolationsNone openNo open L&I cases
What stands out
From the public recordHomestead exemption, mail goes elsewhere
Why it mattersThe parcel claims the homestead exemption (owner lives here) while the tax bill mails to 2003 Devereaux Ave, Bensalem Pa, 19020. Those two facts sit in tension on the record — there can be innocent reasons, but one of them is usually out of date.
View supporting records →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 $0/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It jumps to about $899/yr in 2028 — $899/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.
Built 1939: 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
When the abatement ends, file for Homestead
An abated home cannot also take the Homestead Exemption. From 2028 it can — knocking about $1,400/yr off the full bill.
$7,740 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.
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 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
$64K
built 1939
Price / sq ft
$82
block $81 · in line w/ block
Appreciation
+127%
+8%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$64K
+8%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
—
Gross yield
-12461059.2%
≈$-667M/mo rent
Times sold
1
kept in the family
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangeL&I violationPermit
The paper trail
New constructionbuilt new under a 2020 permit (tax-abated), sold for $4K in 2003.
- 2003 $4KSold
- 2019 2 L&I violations incl UNSAFE STRUCTUREL&IInspection failedL&I visit
- 2020 Addition and/or AlterationPermitL&I: 1 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value · $8K back taxes (1997–2016, $3K 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 $0/yr under a 10-year tax abatement. In 2028 the bill reaches its full ~$899/yr — a step up of $899/yr, 1 assessment year out. Drag the slider.
now: ($64,200 assessed − $64,200 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $0/yr
2028: $64,200 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $899/yr
Flat 100% exemption (pre-2022 program, started 2018), then the cliff — 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
784 sqft
livable area
Lot
924 sqft
Basement
Basement
city code J
Heat
Hot water / radiators
city code B
Central air
No
Exterior condition
Below average
city code 5
Above averageBelow average
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Quality grade
C-
assessor's grade
ABCDE
Zoning
RSA5
city zoning code
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.
Homestead exemption, mail goes elsewhere
The parcel claims the homestead exemption (owner lives here) while the tax bill mails to 2003 Devereaux Ave, Bensalem Pa, 19020. Those two facts sit in tension on the record — there can be innocent reasons, but one of them is usually out of date.
Run the numbers
What owning 1938 W Hilton 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.
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).
Block context
1938 W Hilton St sits on the 1900 block of W Hilton St. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 1936 W Hilton St · 1940 W Hilton 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
- 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 1938 W Hilton St,
on paper.
Built 1939. 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)