New construction
Why it mattersBought for $21K in 2006, built new under a 2017 permit (tax-abated), sold for $28K in 2017.
View supporting records →House report
5918 Lansdowne Ave
3 bd · 1 ba · 2 stories · 1,358 sqft · RSA5 · built 1925
Absentee individual · assessed $139K · sold 2×. On the 5900 block of Lansdowne Ave.
Property summary
Assessment$139KCity assessed value
Last sale$28KRecorded 2017
Est. annual tax$670/yearAssessment × 1.3998%
Tax delinquencyNo 2022 matchNot proof account is current
Permits4Shown in this report
ViolationsNone openNo open 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.
Assessment/permit mismatch
The assessment jumped 94% in 2020, but no matching permit appears in the property timeline.
Evidence: assessment moved from $89,200 to $173,400 · no permit shown in 2019-2021
Limit: Not proof of unpermitted work; reassessment, corrected data, or a permit under another parcel can also explain it.
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
The tax bill is temporary
Today's $670/yr reflects a 10-year abatement. It jumps to about $1,947/yr in 2030 — $1,277/yr more. Price the full bill, not the current one.
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’re the landlord
Lead certificate is not optional
Built 1925: 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
$139K
built 1925
Price / sq ft
$102
block $102 · in line w/ block
Appreciation
+60%
+4%/yr, city 6.5%
In 5 years (~2031)
~$139K
+4%/yr own pace held 5 yrs — extrapolation, not a forecast
Est. tax / yr
$670
0.48% effective, abated
Jun 2022 tax snapshot
No match
not proof the account is current
Gross yield
8.8%
≈$1K/mo rent
Times sold
2
licensed rental
Value vs. the block, over time — sales, permits & L&I events marked on the line
This houseBlock median & rangeSalePermit
The paper trail
New constructionBought for $21K in 2006, built new under a 2017 permit (tax-abated), sold for $28K in 2017.
- 2006 $21KSold
- 2008 2 L&I violationsL&IInspection failedL&I visit
- 2009 L&I: 1 failed, 1 passedL&I visit
- 2017 $28KSoldAlterationPermitMechanicalPermitPlumbingPermitElectricalPermit
Flags: tax-abated — the bill lags real value · active rental license. Informational only — not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
The abatement clock
This house pays about $670/yr under a 10-year tax abatement. In 2030 the bill reaches its full ~$1,947/yr — a step up of $1,277/yr, 3 assessment years out. Drag the slider.
now: ($139,100 assessed − $91,236 abated) × 1.3998% ≈ $670/yr
2030: $139,100 assessed × 1.3998% ≈ $1,947/yr
Flat 100% exemption (pre-2022 program, started 2020), 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.
Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
2
Interior
1,358 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,289 sqft
Exterior condition
Above average
city code 3
Above averageBelow average
Interior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Quality grade
C
assessor's grade
ABCDE
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 5918 Lansdowne 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.
When this house last sold (2017) a 30-year mortgage ran about 3.99% — 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 (with the abatement toggle above).
Block context
5918 Lansdowne Ave sits on the 5900 block of Lansdowne Ave. Open the block report to compare its parcels, ownership and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 5916 Lansdowne Ave · 5920 Lansdowne 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 5918 Lansdowne Ave,
on paper.
Built 1925. 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 this house's actual tax bill.
Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)