Public Records
Edition
Philadelphia3900 block of Bennington StJuly 9, 2026

House report

3920 Bennington St

3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 1,280 sqft · RSA5 · built 1925

Owner-occupied · assessed $168K · sold 4×. On the 3900 block of Bennington St.

Street view of 3920 Bennington 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

Built 1925: 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.

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 analyst below to dig into any number.

Assessed value
$168K
built 1925
Price / sq ft
$131
block $131 · in line w/ block
Appreciation
+85%
+6%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$168K
+6%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$945
0.56% effective
Gross yield
Times sold
4

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

$0$100K$200KBefore this chart — 2000: Sold $23K 2003: Sold $58K 2007: Sold $60K 2008: Plumbing 2009: Sold $105K 2015: L&I violation2024: L&I violation$168K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangeL&I violationPermit
The paper trail

Bought for $23K in 2000, plumbing permit in 2008, sold for $105K in 2009 (+367%).

  1. 2000 $23KSold
  2. 2003 $58KSold
  3. 2007 $60KSold
  4. 2008 PlumbingPermit
  5. 2009 $105KSold
  6. 2015 L&I violationL&I
  7. 2024 L&I violationL&I

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.

Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
2
Interior
1,280 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,040 sqft
Basement
Partial
city code H
Heat
Undetermined
city code H
Central air
No
Garage
1 space
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
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 3920 Bennington 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.

$168K
20%
6.875%
$1K/mo

When this house last sold (2009) a 30-year mortgage ran about 5.04% — Freddie Mac's average that year.

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.

Next door: 3918 Bennington St  ·  3922 Bennington 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)