137 Mills Ave

Braddock, PA 15104

$20,000D+

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,408 sqft · Built 1900 · SingleFamily · Active · 9 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,333/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$105
• Tax + insurance: −$68
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$280
• Net cashflow: $880/mo
• Annual: $10,562/yr
• Cap rate: 59.10%
• Cash-on-cash: 188.61%
• DSCR: 9.39
• 1% rule: 6.66%
• Cash to close: $5,600

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $20k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $880 ($11k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $20k).
• Only 9 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Local home prices are declining (-1.6%/yr); year-one equity from $138 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $324 of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 67/100 on livability (#963 in PA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, commute A+, cost of living A+; Watch: schools F, amenities F, employment F.
• Woodland Hills SD (suburban): math 13% / reading 30% proficiency, ranked #486 of 539 in PA (top 90%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover; 69% free/reduced lunch — lower-income household profile, screen leases tightly.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 3.6% of price; built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 37 active listings in the ZIP; 15 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals at typical pace (median 25d on market — plan ~3-4 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); lower-income renter base — watch delinquency; 2,996 units permitted in Allegheny County in 2024 (1,588 in 5+ unit buildings).
• At projected returns (-1.6% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $6k cash investment doubles in ~1 year — after that, you're playing with house money.
• This rent runs 40% of the median local income ($40k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

Questions for listing agent

• Built in 1900 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• Property tax is high relative to price — has the assessment been appealed recently, and will the sale trigger a re-assessment?
• Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
• Schools are F-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
• The area grade is low — what's the realistic commute time and amenity access for the typical tenant pool here? Any planned neighborhood developments (good or bad) we should know about?
• What's the average days-on-market for RENTAL listings here right now (not sales)? A rising rental-DOM trend means longer vacancies and softer asking-rent achievability than the comps imply.
• What's the recent tenant-quality profile in this submarket — average credit score on applications, eviction rate, late-payment / NSF rate, and stable-employment percentage? A property-management company in the area should have these aggregated.
• How much new for-sale + rental construction is in the pipeline within 1–3 miles? Heavy new supply typically softens prices + rents 12–24 months out; constrained supply supports both.