1218 S Spruce St

Ashland, PA 17921

$90,000D

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,060 sqft · Built 1925 · Townhouse · Active · 7 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,075/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$472
• Tax + insurance: −$395
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$226
• Net cashflow: $-18/mo
• Annual: $-216/yr
• Cap rate: 6.05%
• Cash-on-cash: -0.86%
• DSCR: 0.96
• 1% rule: 1.19%
• Cash to close: $25,200

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath townhouse listed at $90k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-18 ($-216/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $87k (3.5% below list).
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $90k).
• Only 7 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $87k (3.5% below list) — sets the bar for cash-flow.
• In year one you build about $10k of equity ($622 loan paydown + $9k appreciation (10.0% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 64/100 on livability (#1,179 in PA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: schools D-, amenities F, commute F.
• North Schuylkill SD (rural): math 19% / reading 48% proficiency, ranked #429 of 539 in PA (top 80%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 4.8% of price; built in 1925 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 48 active listings in the ZIP; 1 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 169 units permitted in Schuylkill County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Schuylkill County population projected at -16% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 5 sale attempts since 7y ago with the ask held roughly flat each time — persistent listings suggest the price (not the market) is what's stuck; bring a comps-based counter.
• Current owner paid $56k; list at $90k implies a 61% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (10.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $25k cash investment doubles in ~3 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• By year 4, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$34k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.
• Cap rate 6.1% vs local median 10.9% in Ashland — below-typical yield; the buyer is paying a premium for something (appreciation thesis, condition, location) that the cap rate doesn't capture.

Questions for listing agent

• What do current leases actually rent for vs. the listed asking? Can we see a recent rent roll and the last 12 months of T-12 income?
• Built in 1925 — 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 D-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.