House report

4529 Fernhill Rd

3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 1,010 sqft · RSA5 · built 1930

Absentee individual · assessed $154K · sold 3×. On the 4500 block of Fernhill Rd.

Street view of 4529 Fernhill Rd
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

Built 1930: 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’re the landlord

Lead certificate is not optional

Built 1930: 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
$154K
built 1930
Price / sq ft
$152
block $150 · in line w/ block
Appreciation
+567%
+19%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$155K
+19%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$2K
1.4% effective
Gross yield
-5211726.4%
≈$-667M/mo rent
Times sold
3
kept in the family

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

$0$100K$200KBefore this chart — 2008: 2 L&I violations 2013: 2 L&I violations 2015: 3 L&I violations incl EXTERIOR STRUCT UNSAFE COND 8 2015: Sold $20K 2015: Inspection failed ×32016: Inspection passed2017: 2 L&I violations 2017: L&I: 2 failed, 1 passed2018: Sold $49K 2018: Inspection passed ×22021: Sold $120K$154K201620222027
This houseBlock median & rangeSaleL&I violationPermitInspection

The paper trail

Traded 3×: $20K in 2015 → $120K in 2021 (+500%).

  1. 2008 2 L&I violationsL&I
  2. 2013 2 L&I violationsL&I
  3. 2015 3 L&I violations incl EXTERIOR STRUCT UNSAFE COND 8L&I$20KSoldInspection failed ×3L&I visit
  4. 2016 Inspection passedL&I visit
  5. 2017 2 L&I violationsL&IL&I: 2 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
  6. 2018 $49KSoldInspection passed ×2L&I visit
  7. 2021 $120KSold

Flags: active rental license · 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
1,010 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,171 sqft
Basement
Full
city code D
Heat
Forced hot air
city code A
Central air
No
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 4529 Fernhill Rd 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.

$154K
20%
6.875%
$700/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.

Block context

4529 Fernhill Rd sits on the 4500 block of Fernhill Rd. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.

See the whole block →

Next door: 4527 Fernhill Rd  ·  4531 Fernhill Rd

Where this comes from

Methodology & freshness

City datasets are fetched live from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and cached briefly. Dossiers re-pull automatically — on view once they're a few weeks old, plus a nightly rolling sweep — 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)