House report
3904 N Franklin St
3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 1,200 sqft · RSA5 · built 1940
Investor / LLC · assessed $165K · sold 3×. On the 3900 block of N Franklin St.
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
Today's $540/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It steps up every year and reaches about $2,315/yr in 2033 — $1,775/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.
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.
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 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
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
Built 1940: 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.
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.
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
Bought for $2K in 1998, built new under a 2019 permit (tax-abated), sold for $2K in 2014.
- 1998 $2KSold
- 2007 $10KSold
- 2014 $2KSold
- 2018 3 L&I violations incl EXTERIOR STRUCT UNSAFE COND 12L&I
- 2019 Major alterationPermitPlumbingPermitMajor alterationPermitElectricalPermitMechanicalPermit
Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value · active rental license · $21K back taxes (1997–2016, $9K 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 $540/yr under a 10-year tax abatement that steps down every year. In 2033 the bill reaches its full ~$2,315/yr — a step up of $1,775/yr, 6 assessment years out. Drag the slider.
now: ($165,400 assessed − $126,823 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $540/yr
2033: $165,400 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $2,315/yr
The abated slice shrinks ~10% a year (post-2022 program, started 2023) — 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.
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Run the numbers
What owning 3904 N Franklin 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.
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: 3902 N Franklin St · 3906 N Franklin 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
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.
First time here?
This is 3904 N Franklin St,
on paper.
Built 1940. 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.
Who owns what, what they paid, what they built, what they owe. Scroll and it's all here — the paid part is not the data.
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)