2026 assessment
$213K
OPA value, not a listing price
House report
3948 Melon St
3 bd1 ba2 stories1,170 sqftRSA5built 1925
Property at a glanceHouse
Individual, other or unknown mailing address
ZIP 19104 area
University City · West Powelton
3900 block of Melon St
Assessment and City record timeline
Published City assessments for this house against its block and ZIP. Dated City filings are marked on the same line. Select one to read it. Assessments are tax-roll values, not sale prices or appraisals.
- OPA assessment · 2016$105K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2017$105K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2018$105K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2019$154K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2020$160K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2021$160K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2022$160K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2023$70K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2024$70K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2025$213K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2026$213K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- OPA assessment · 2027$272K assessed valueOPA’s value on the City tax roll for that year. It is not an appraisal, listing price, sale price, or live tax balance.How Philadelphia property assessments work ↗
- Deed / sale · 2022Deed / sale $68KA recorded real-estate document or transfer event. The amount and date can be useful history, but the underlying deed and transfer-tax filing control the parties, consideration, and legal effect.How to read the recorded document ↗
- Permit · 2023-07-10Addition and/or AlterationThis permit category usually covers construction, repair, alteration, addition, or occupancy work. The approved scope—not the short category—defines what was authorized, and issuance alone does not prove completion.Philadelphia construction and repair permits ↗
- L&I violation · 2007-11-26PROSEC- STD INFO (likely: Standard enforcement or prosecution notice)Legacy L&I shorthand; the case notice contains the actual required correction and deadlines.How L&I violations and orders work ↗
- L&I violation · 2007-11-26VACANT BLDG UNSECURED COUNTA dated L&I enforcement row. Read the cited code, required correction, status, and later inspections together; the title alone does not establish the property’s current condition.How L&I violations and orders work ↗
- L&I violation · 2007-11-26VACANT PROP STANDARD (likely: vacant-property enforcement standard)A legacy L&I label associated with vacant-property requirements. It may concern licensing, securing, or maintaining a vacant structure; the notice and cited code control, and this row alone does not prove the property is vacant now.Read Philadelphia Code §9-3905 ↗
- L&I violation · 2007-11-26LICENSE-VAC RES BLDG (vacant residential building license required)This usually records a requirement to obtain a Vacant Structure License for an unoccupied residential building. Check later license and compliance rows because it does not establish present vacancy or an unresolved violation.How the City licenses vacant residential property ↗
- Inspection · 2007-11-26BRU INSPA dated L&I visit or review. Its type describes the inspection program; the separate result and later rows show whether that visit passed, failed, or led to follow-up.What Philadelphia inspections check ↗
- Inspection · 2012-04-05BRU INSPA dated L&I visit or review. Its type describes the inspection program; the separate result and later rows show whether that visit passed, failed, or led to follow-up.What Philadelphia inspections check ↗
- License · 2025-04-02Deshui Zheng: Rental landlord or residential registration initially issuedA City license record tied to an activity or property use. Its issue, expiration, inactive, and status fields—not the category alone—show what was recorded for this date.Philadelphia L&I licenses and property records ↗
Property assessmentBlock median & rangeZIP 19104 (University City · West Powelton) medianAssessmentDeed / saleL&I violationPermitInspectionLicense
Scroll horizontally to move through the years. Each icon sits on its recorded date; records without a day are labeled and centered within their year. Select one to explain the filing.
Highlight
Every dated record9 events · exact dates, newest first
- LicenseDeshui Zheng: Rental landlord or residential registration initially issued
- PermitAddition and/or Alteration
- Deed / saleDeed / sale $68K
- InspectionBRU INSP
- L&I violationPROSEC- STD INFO (likely: Standard enforcement or prosecution notice)
- L&I violationVACANT BLDG UNSECURED COUNT
- L&I violationVACANT PROP STANDARD (likely: vacant-property enforcement standard)
- L&I violationLICENSE-VAC RES BLDG (vacant residential building license required)
- InspectionBRU INSP
Flags: active rental license · $28K recorded in the June 2022 delinquency snapshot; verify current balance · historical tax ledger through 2016 recorded $10K with a lien entry. Informational only. Not investment advice or a consumer report (FCRA).
Verify the public record
Property tax
$2,987/year estimated property tax
2026 taxable assessment $213,400 × 1.3998%. This is an estimate, not a bill or account balance. The City maintains payments, credits, interest, and the current amount due.
OPA has published a 2027 assessment of $271,700. It is not the 2026 billed-year value.
Payments, credits, interest, and the current amount due are maintained by the City.
OPA 2422225002026 taxable assessment equals the full assessed value.
Historical delinquency sources Record found
$28,122.10 was recorded for this parcel in Philadelphia's June 2022 delinquency snapshot for 2006–2021. That amount may have been paid, reduced, or increased since; it is not a current payoff figure.
$17,113.68 principal$6,548.95 interest$1,179.18 penalty$3,280.29 other charges
The snapshot’s 2022 context used $160,200 total assessment, $160,200 taxable, and $0 exempt/abated. Those historical fields can differ from today’s OPA exemption status.
A separate historical parcel ledger ending in 2016 records $9,554.76 and a lien entry. It is shown as historical context only.
2006$1,126.65 total · $72.56 principal · $127.13 interest · $12.08 penalty2008$381.95 total · $188.55 principal · $138.58 interest · $13.20 penalty2009$363.96 total · $188.55 principal · $121.61 interest · $13.20 penalty2010$345.97 total · $188.55 principal · $104.64 interest · $13.20 penalty2011$358.36 total · $207.22 principal · $96.35 interest · $14.51 penalty2012$350.82 total · $215.20 principal · $80.70 interest · $15.06 penalty2013$341.42 total · $222.94 principal · $63.54 interest · $15.61 penalty2014$2,257.42 total · $1,614.97 principal · $314.92 interest · $113.05 penalty2015$2,103.35 total · $1,614.97 principal · $169.57 interest · $113.05 penalty2016$1,924.86 total · $1,687.04 principal · $25.30 interest · $16.87 penalty
For a purchase, refinance, or closing, request the City’s official Property Payoff statement in Tax Center under “More options.”
The property, on paper
OPA physical field record.
Bedrooms
3
Bathrooms
1
Stories
2
Interior
1,170 sqft
livable area
Lot
1,193 sqft
Basement
Full
city code D
Heat
Forced hot air
city code A
Central air
No
Exterior condition
Average
city code 4
Above averageBelow average
Interior condition
New / rehabbed
city code 2
New / rehabbed
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.
Block context
3900 block of Melon St. Compare parcels, ownership, and public-record history.
See the whole block →Next door: 3950 Melon St · 3952 Melon St
L&I license dates · data through Jul 23, 2026
Business licenses at this address Latest pull
What L&I has registered at this OPA parcel, newest initial license date first.
No L&I business license is on record at this address in data through Jul 23, 2026.
Landlord and residential filings
These are property registrations or landlord filings, not businesses operating at this address.
Deshui ZhengActive
Rental · Initial issue date Apr 2, 2025 · Filed expiration Apr 1, 2027
A license is an L&I registration, not proof that a business is open, operating today, or located at this storefront. Dates are license dates. Events are deduped by parcel, business identity, and license type, so a renewal is not shown as another opening. Other permit and filing types remain in the full source ledger.
Open every source row 9 dated rows
- License issue eventDeshui Zheng: Rental landlord or residential registration initially issued
License 0975240 · Active
License event. Registration does not prove present operation or storefront occupancy.
- PermitAddition and/or Alteration
Permit RP-2023-005421 · Completed
HOMEOWNER PERFORMING WORK: ANY LICENSED SUB-CONTRACTORS ARE REQUIRED OT BE ADDED TO THIS PERMIT EZ PERMIT STANDARDS ALTERATIONS For alterations to an existing one family dwelling as per attached standard. Deviations from this standard will result in permit revocation and require submission of construction plans. Structural alteration or repair is expressly prohibited under this permit. Prohibited structural work includes any modification to exterior walls, party walls, floor/roof framing or foundations, underpinning and excavations (i.e., digging in basement). Any work/alterations to the basement/cellar are expressly prohibited unless documented as an existing habitable space with heights and means of egress per conditions of the EZ standard. separate permits required for mechanical, electric and plumbing, etc. *No basement alterations of any kind were proposed or approved for this permit* *No structural alterations of any kind were proposed or approved for this permit* 1st floor: Complete renovation of the kitchen, including fix the ceiling, new cabinets, and new floor. Install new floor. Replace front and back door, replace all 4 windows at the same locations and same size. Stairs, add a new sub floor for the stairs. 2nd floor: replace the railing on the stairs, add a sub floor, paint wall, replace all 7 new windows same location and same size. Bathroom: Add tile on the floor. No structural changes on all floors. No renovation on the basemen
- Recorded transfer$68K transfer
2022
- InvestigationBRU INSP
Case 136005 · CLOSED
City marked the record closed; open the case for the closing reason.
- ViolationPROSEC- STD INFO (likely: Standard enforcement or prosecution notice)
Case 136005 · Violation 746791 · Code A-503.2/2 · COMPLIED
Legacy L&I shorthand; the case notice contains the actual required correction and deadlines. City marked this violation complied with; check the resolution date and live case for what was accepted.
- ViolationVACANT BLDG UNSECURED COUNT
Case 136005 · Violation 746794 · Code PM-306.2/1 · COMPLIED
City marked this violation complied with; check the resolution date and live case for what was accepted.
- ViolationVACANT PROP STANDARD (likely: vacant-property enforcement standard)
Case 136005 · Violation 746793 · Code PM-306.0/1 · COMPLIED
A legacy L&I label associated with vacant-property requirements. It may concern licensing, securing, or maintaining a vacant structure; the notice and cited code control, and this row alone does not prove the property is vacant now. City marked this violation complied with; check the resolution date and live case for what was accepted.
- ViolationLICENSE-VAC RES BLDG (vacant residential building license required)
Case 136005 · Violation 746792 · Code PM-102.4/2 · COMPLIED
This usually records a requirement to obtain a Vacant Structure License for an unoccupied residential building. Check later license and compliance rows because it does not establish present vacancy or an unresolved violation. City marked this violation complied with; check the resolution date and live case for what was accepted.
- InvestigationBRU INSP
Case 136005 · FAILED
The cited inspection visit was marked failed; later rows may show follow-up or resolution.
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
This report was assembled Jul 23, 2026, 11:54 AM ET. Available City datasets are queried from OpenDataPhilly (phl.carto.com) and the cited City ArcGIS feeds; record queries paginate rather than silently taking a first page. For this property: Permits: queried · Violations: queried · Investigations: queried · Appeals: queried · Licenses: queried · Building certifications: queried. “Unavailable” means the source query failed or was not supplied, not “no record.” Reports re-pull on view after seven days and on an overnight rolling schedule; citywide benchmarks recompute weekly. Source dates still govern: the parcel-level tax-delinquency snapshot is June 2022 and the separate detailed tax ledger ends in 2016, so neither establishes today’s balance. The live balance and date-effective payoff must be verified in Tax Center. AI-written passages are grounded in the assembled record and rejected if they state a number the record does not hold.
Official city record ↗ · L&I history ↗ · See the whole block · Download this record (JSON)