House report

3921 Powelton Ave

3,264 sqft · RM1 · built 1905

Owner-occupied · assessed $784K. On the 3900 block of Powelton Ave.

Street view of 3921 Powelton Ave
From the street — imagery © Google
From above — imagery © Esri, Maxar

Property summary

What stands out

From the public record

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 $10,976/yr by 2026 — $10,976/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.

Built 1905: 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

When the abatement ends, file for Homestead

An abated home cannot also take the Homestead Exemption. From 2026 it can — knocking about $1,400/yr off the full bill.

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
$784K
built 1905
Price / sq ft
$240
block $180 · above block
Appreciation
+7%
+1%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$784K
+1%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
No match
not proof the account is current
Gross yield
Times sold
0

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

$0$500K$1.0MBefore this chart — 2013: 4 L&I violations 2013: Alteration$784K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangePermit

The paper trail

built new under a 2013 permit (tax-abated).

  1. 2013 4 L&I violationsL&IAlterationPermit

Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value. 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. By 2026 the bill reaches its full ~$10,976/yr — a step up of $10,976/yr. Drag the slider.

2016: ~$0/yr2017: ~$0/yr2018: ~$0/yr2019: ~$0/yr2020: ~$0/yr2021: ~$0/yr2022: ~$0/yr2023: ~$0/yr2024: ~$0/yr2025: ~$0/yr2026: ~$0/yr2027: ~$0/yr201620262027
2027~$0/yrfrom the record

now: ($784,100 assessed − $784,100 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $0/yr 2026: $784,100 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $10,976/yr Flat 100% exemption (pre-2022 program, started 2016), 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.

Interior
3,264 sqft
livable area
Lot
4,200 sqft
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Quality grade
C+
assessor's grade
Zoning
RM1
city zoning code

OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.

Run the numbers

What owning 3921 Powelton 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.

$784K
20%
6.875%
$6K/mo
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

3921 Powelton Ave sits on the 3900 block of Powelton Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.

See the whole block →

Next door: 3925 Powelton Ave  ·  3927 Powelton Ave

Where this comes from

Methodology & freshness

Available City datasets are queried from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com), then reports are cached and refreshed on a rolling schedule. Source dates vary: the parcel-level tax-delinquency snapshot is June 2022 and the separate detailed tax ledger ends in 2016, so neither establishes today’s balance. Other dossiers re-pull on view once stale, 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.

Official city record ↗  ·  L&I history ↗  ·  See the whole block  ·  Download this record (JSON)