2026 taxable assessment $0 × 1.3998%. Estimate—not a bill or account balance.
OPA also publishes a 2027 assessment of $98,000; it is not the 2026 billed-year value.
Land report
3853 Germantown Ave
Vacant lot · City Of Phila & Dept Of Publc Prop · fully tax-exempt (2026 OPA). On the 3800 block of Germantown Ave.
Property summary
Assessment$46,7002026 OPA assessment · 2027: $98,000
Last sale$500Recorded 1984
Est. tax bill$0/year2026 OPA · full assessment exemption shown
Tax delinquencyNo 2022 matchNot proof account is current
Permits0Every fetched City permit
Violations1 open2 historical across 2 cases
“Open” reflects records available then historical records keep their source dates estimates are labeled
BlockReport AI · cited public records
Ask the questions this record raises.
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Question or correct this record
BlockReport can explain a discrepancy, but it cannot rewrite an official City record. Use the agency that owns the underlying fact:
Property tax
The estimate, live balance, and back-tax record are different.
BlockReport can calculate the annual tax from the City’s taxable assessment. Payments, credits, interest, and a current amount due live separately in Philadelphia Tax Center.
A Tax Center balance is net of bills, payments, credits, interest, and adjustments. A credit—or an amount due—is not automatically “back taxes.”
OPA 1322500052026 OPA shows a zero or de minimis taxable assessment. The open assessment split does not establish the exemption's legal basis, continuing eligibility, or treatment after a transfer.
Historical delinquency sources No current conclusion
This parcel did not match the June 2022 delinquency snapshot. That absence does not confirm the account is current today.
For a purchase, refinance, or closing, request the City’s official Property Payoff statement in Tax Center under “More options.”
What stands out
From the public recordHistory
Why it mattersL&I violation (2020); Inspection failed (2020); L&I violation (2021); L&I: 2 failed, 1 passed (2021).
View supporting records →City Property History
Fetched L&I and zoning records
Every row successfully fetched for this report is counted below. Dataset availability and matching can differ from the City's interactive file; use the official link for current detail.
- Recorded owner
- City Of Phila & Dept Of Publc Prop
- Tax mailing address
- 1401 JOHN F KENNEDY BLVD, PHILADELPHIA PA, 19107
- L&I district
- NORTH
- Building ID (BIN)
- —
- OPA account
- 132250005
Permits0No match
Violation cases22 violation records · 1 open
Investigations43 failed · 1 passed · 0 closed
Building certifications0No match
Business licenses0No match
Appeals0No match
PermitsPermit number, issued date, work and City status0
No permits matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
Violation cases2 individual violation records; resolved history remains visible2
Case 724144CLOSED
NOTICE OF VIOLATION · Opened Feb 12, 2020 · completed Jun 4, 2021
- PERM Z- NEW USEViolation 211990418Feb 12, 2020 CLOSED
Case CF-2021-047794IN VIOLATION
NOTICE OF VIOLATION · Opened Jun 4, 2021
- NEW USEViolation VI-2021-035062Jun 4, 2021 OPEN
InvestigationsEvery inspector visit, including CLOSED outcomes4
HCEU INSPCase 724144
Feb 11, 2020 FAILED
L&I investigationCase 724144
Mar 15, 2021 FAILED
L&I investigationCase 724144
Jun 4, 2021 PASSED
L&I investigationCase CF-2021-047794
Jun 4, 2021 FAILED
Building certificationsInspection result and filed expiration date by L&I building ID0
No building certifications matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
Business licensesHistorical and active licenses are both retained0
No business licenses matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
AppealsApplication status and decision are separate City fields0
No appeals matched this parcel in the fetched City dataset.
City of Philadelphia OPA, L&I and Zoning Board records, shown as filed. A CLOSED investigation is an outcome label, not a missing visit; an appeal's application status and decision may differ.
Legal due diligence
What this record proves—and what it does not.
These checks are triggered by this property’s actual City rows. They identify the controlling document to verify; they do not declare a use legal, a building safe, or title clear.
2 resolve before relying
2 verify
Resolve before relyingZoning approval is not the occupancy fileThe history also contains “PERM Z- NEW USE.”
Why it mattersPhiladelphia says a zoning approval or Property Sales Certification can identify a use without proving that it was established under the Building Code. A change of use, unit count, exits, or fire rating can require a Building Permit and Certificate of Occupancy.
Verify nextVerify the lawful use, unit count, associated construction permits, and Certificate of Occupancy with L&I.
Open the controlling City guidance ↗Resolve before relying1 open L&I violation2 violation rows are retained in the City ledger.
Why it mattersOpen notices can accrue fees, block permits or license renewal, and move to court or collection. Standard initial notices generally have a 30-day appeal window; unsafe or imminently-dangerous notices have a much shorter window.
Verify nextRead the notice—not only the summary status—and confirm reinspection, fees, and appeal posture with L&I.
Open the controlling City guidance ↗VerifyFailed inspections are dated events—not the current condition3 failed, 1 passed, and 0 CLOSED investigation outcomes are in the fetched history; the latest dated visit was PASSED on Jun 4, 2021.
Why it mattersA PASSED or FAILED value applies to that inspection visit. CLOSED is a separate source status; none of the three alone proves the parent permit or violation case closed—or describes today’s condition.
Verify nextOpen the parent case/permit for each material failure and confirm its later disposition.
Open the controlling City guidance ↗VerifyOPA shows a full exemption; its legal basis is unverifiedOPA currently marks the land and building assessment fully tax-exempt; BlockReport does not receive the exemption determination or basis.
Why it mattersFull OPA exemptions can have different legal bases, including government, religious, charitable/institutional, veteran, or other treatment. The current owner/use record is not a buyer’s tax forecast.
Verify nextConfirm the exact exemption basis, buyer eligibility, and next tax-year treatment directly with OPA.
Open the controlling City guidance ↗Closing file: checks no public-record summary can replace3 documents/searches to assign before settlement
Property Sales Certification
The seller must obtain Philadelphia’s certificate showing the base zoning, last use in the zoning record, and open violations. The City warns that it does not prove Building Code occupancy or show zoning overlays.
Next: Obtain the fresh certificate and compare it with the CO, permits, and Atlas overlays.
Official guidance ↗Date-effective City Property Payoff
The Tax Center Property Payoff covers Real Estate Tax, Commercial Trash, and L&I abatement-work invoices. Philadelphia says it does not include business-tax debts or liens, water and sewer charges, or fines for code violations.
Next: Request the City statement effective through settlement; read every period and invoice.
Official guidance ↗Professional title and water-lien searches
OPA ownership, deed summaries, and a zero tax balance are not clear title. Mortgages, judgments, municipal claims, water liens, easements, heirs, and other encumbrances require separate searches.
Next: Use a Pennsylvania lawyer/title company and obtain owner’s title insurance; order the separate water search/payoff.
Official guidance ↗Separate water-lien guidance ↗Informational only—not a legal opinion, title report, code inspection, tax payoff, or substitute for a Pennsylvania lawyer, title company, inspector, or tax professional.
Records to verify together
Rule-based groupings across this property's dated public records. Each flag shows the records that belong in the same verification step and where the inference stops.
Records to verify together
More than one separately dated public record deserves a current-status check.
Evidence: 1 open L&I violation · failed L&I inspection activity in 2021
Limit: A screening signal, not a foreclosure prediction. Tax entries are historical and must be verified with Philadelphia Revenue.
Assessment/permit mismatch
The assessment jumped 110% in 2027, but no matching permit appears in the property timeline.
Evidence: assessment moved from $46,700 to $98,000 · no permit shown in 2026-2028
Limit: Not proof of unpermitted work; reassessment, corrected data, or a permit under another parcel can also explain it.
Transparent record rules, not a score or forecast. Each flag is a prompt to verify the cited records, not a prediction or allegation.
Vacant landLand report
An empty lot: no building, just the land and its paper trail. The homeowner tools don't apply; the deed history, owner and zoning are below, and the analyst can trace what the owner holds citywide.
1 open violation
What it is
Vacant lot
Vacant Land Reside < Acre
Owner
City Of Phila
OPA tax treatment
Full assessment exemption shown
2026 OPA taxable assessment $0 · basis and live balance require separate verification
Corridor
Broad, Germantown, and Erie
city commercial corridor
Assessed value
$46,700
2026 OPA · 2027: $98,000
Lot size
2,427 sqft
Zoning
CMX2.5
Block context
3853 Germantown Ave sits on the 3800 block of Germantown Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 3851 Germantown Ave · 3855-61 Germantown 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
- Tax delinquency snapshot · June 2022 — Real Estate Tax Delinquencies, Dept. of Revenue
- Historical tax ledger & liens · through 2016 — Real Estate Tax Balances, Dept. of Revenue
- Current property-tax balance — Verify with Philadelphia 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
This report was assembled Jul 10, 2026, 1:21 AM ET. Available City datasets are queried from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and the cited City ArcGIS feeds; record queries paginate rather than silently taking a first page. For this property: Permits: queried · Violations: queried · Investigations: queried · Appeals: queried · Licenses: queried · Building certifications: queried. “Unavailable” means the source query failed or was not supplied, not “no record.” Reports re-pull on view after seven days and on an overnight rolling schedule; citywide benchmarks recompute weekly. Source dates still govern: the parcel-level tax-delinquency snapshot is June 2022 and the separate detailed tax ledger ends in 2016, so neither establishes today’s balance. The live balance and date-effective payoff must be verified in Tax Center. AI-written passages are grounded in the assembled record and rejected if they state a number the record does not hold.
Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)