Public Records
Edition
Philadelphia3900 block of N Marshall StJuly 9, 2026

House report

3948 N Marshall St

4 bd · 3 ba · 2 stories · 1,212 sqft · RSA5 · built 1925

Owner-occupied · assessed $179K · sold 4×. On the 3900 block of N Marshall St.

Street view of 3948 N Marshall 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.

If you own it

$1,399/yr may be unclaimed

This home reads owner-occupied but shows no Homestead Exemption, which removes $100,000 from the taxable assessment (worth up to $1,399/yr). Applying through the City is free and takes minutes.

$3,339 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 analyst below to dig into any number.

Assessed value
$179K
built 1925
Price / sq ft
$148
block $107 · above block
Appreciation
+180%
+10%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$180K
+10%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$3K
1.4% 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 — 2002: Sold $9K 2003: Sold $53K 2014: 3 L&I violations2019: Sold $37K2021: Sold $173K2024: Alterations$179K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangeSalePermit
The paper trailImproved

Bought for $9K in 2002. Owner pulled a alterations permit in 2024.

  1. 2002 $9KSold
  2. 2003 $53KSold
  3. 2014 3 L&I violationsL&I
  4. 2019 $37KSold
  5. 2021 $173KSold
  6. 2024 AlterationsPermit

Flags: $3K back taxes (2007–2016, $413 of it interest & penalties, lien filed). 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
4
Bathrooms
3
Stories
2
Interior
1,212 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,361 sqft
Basement
Full
city code D
Heat
Forced hot air
city code A
Central air
Yes
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Interior condition
Above average
city code 3
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 3948 N Marshall 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.

$179K
20%
6.875%
$1K/mo

When this house last sold (2021) a 30-year mortgage ran about 2.96% — 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: 3946 N Marshall St  ·  3950 N Marshall 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)