Renovated & sold on
Why it mattersBought for $225K in 2021, zoning permit in 2010, sold for $225K in 2021 (+61%).
View supporting records →House report
4417 Cottman Ave
3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 1,670 sqft · RSA5 · built 1950
Absentee individual · assessed $230K · sold 2×. On the 4400 block of Cottman Ave.
Property summary
Assessment$230KCity assessed value
Last sale$225KRecorded 2021
Est. annual tax$3K/yearAssessment × 1.3998%
Tax delinquency—Snapshot unavailable
Permits3Shown in this report
Violations1Open L&I cases
What stands out
From the public recordWhat the record is signaling
Early patterns mined across this property's dated public records. Each flag shows what triggered it and where the inference stops.
Public-record pressure
More than one public record deserves a current-status check.
Evidence: 1 open L&I violation · failed L&I inspection activity in 2024, 2025, 2026
Limit: A screening signal, not a foreclosure prediction. Tax entries are historical and must be verified with Philadelphia Revenue.
Post-purchase work pattern
A recorded purchase followed by 1 permit event matches the early part of a renovate-and-resell sequence.
Evidence: purchase recorded in 2021 · permit activity in 2022
Limit: This does not show that the property is listed or that a sale is planned.
Transparent record rules, not a machine-learning forecast. A signal is a prompt to verify the cited record, not a prediction or allegation.
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 1950: 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 open violation: the clock matters
L&I appeals must be filed within 30 days — just 6 days if a property is designated UNSAFE or IMMINENTLY DANGEROUS. Left unresolved, the city can do the work itself, bill the owner (routinely $50,000+ on a rowhouse), lien the property, and add court fines of $300+/day.
If you’re the landlord
Lead certificate is not optional
Built 1950: 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.
Licensed rental — keep it that way
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.
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
$230K
built 1950
Price / sq ft
$137
block $155 · below block
Appreciation
+81%
+6%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$230K
+6%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$3K
1.4% effective
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
—
Gross yield
7.2%
≈$1K/mo rent
Times sold
2
kept in the family
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangeSaleL&I violationPermit
The paper trail
Renovated & sold onBought for $225K in 2021, zoning permit in 2010, sold for $225K in 2021 (+61%).
- 2010 ZoningPermitAdditionPermit
- 2021 $225KSold
- 2022 AlterationsPermit
- 2023 2 L&I violationsL&IL&I: 1 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
- 2024 2 L&I violationsL&IL&I: 3 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
- 2025 2 L&I violationsL&IL&I: 4 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
- 2026 L&I violationL&IInspection failed ×3L&I visit
Flags: active rental license · 1 open L&I violation · 1 zoning/board appeal on record · long-held within one family. 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
1,670 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,648 sqft
Basement
Full, finished
city code A
Heat
Undetermined
city code H
Central air
No
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
ABCDE
Zoning
RSA5
city zoning code
Zoning appeals
1
granted with conditions 2010
OPA field-assessment attributes. Condition and grade are the assessor's codes, not an inspection.
Run the numbers
What owning 4417 Cottman Ave takes, at your price and your rate. Taxes start with an annual estimate from the City’s taxable assessment, not a current bill or balance; rent starts at the area median. Assessed value is not an asking price — set the price slider to the real one.
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.
Block context
4417 Cottman Ave sits on the 4400 block of Cottman Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 4415 Cottman Ave · 4419 Cottman 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
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.
First time here?
This is 4417 Cottman Ave,
on paper.
Built 1950. 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.
Permits, violations, taxes, deeds, ownership, and block context are all here. The public record is free to read; membership is for deeper research.
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 an assessment-based annual tax estimate.
Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)