1037 Mcdowell Ave · Chester, PA
Flood risk 1/10 · Minimal
- FEMA flood zone
- X (unshaded)
- Chance of flooding over 30 yrs
- 0.0%
- Est. flood insurance / yr
- $473 – $860
Fire risk 1/10 · Minimal
- Est. fire insurance / yr
- $511 – $949
Heat risk 7/10 · Major
- Hot days now (above 103°F)
- 7 days/yr
- Hot days in 30 yrs
- 15 days/yr
Wind risk 6/10 · Moderate
- Chance of severe wind over 30 yrs
- 27.0%
Air-quality risk 3/10 · Minor
- Unhealthy air days now
- 2 days/yr
- Unhealthy air days in 30 yrs
- 4 days/yr
Risk factors via First Street. Map © Google.
Why this score? — see what drove the B grade
The composite is a weighted blend of 9 inputs, each scored 0–100. Each bar is that input's sub-score; the figure is the points it added to the 100-point composite (weight × sub-score).
- Cash flow +30.0/30.0
- 1% rule +10.0/10.0
- DSCR +10.0/10.0
- ARV discount +9.1/15.0
- Rent growth +4.2/5.0
- Livability +3.7/5.0
- Condition / age +2.5/5.0
- Schools +0.8/10.0
- Appreciation +0.0/10.0
$79,900
🖨 Deal sheet 📄 Offer letter ✓ Due diligence
Listing remarks MLS
Investor Alert!! Newly cleaned out! 3 bedroom brick with covered front porch, large eat in kitchen, handicap accessible shower/ bath, fenced rear yard. Ready for you to come in, renovate and live or rent. Being sold in as-is condition.
Key facts
- Covered front porch
- Large eat in kitchen
- Fenced rear yard
Tags
Neighborhood map
What this means for you Summary
Snapshot
- This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath townhouse listed at $80k.
Deal economics
- At list price, monthly cash flow is $674 ($8k/yr) — positive.
- The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
- Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $80k).
- Recommended offer: $73k (9.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
- Cap rate 16.4% vs local median 7.5% in Chester — top-decile yield for the area; either an underpriced asset or a hidden risk that comps aren't pricing in. Stress-test before assuming the spread holds.
Location & tenants
- Location reads 73/100 on livability (#540 in PA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: amenities A+, commute A+, cost of living A+; Watch: schools F, crime F, employment F.
- Chester-Upland SD (suburban): math 4% / reading 17% proficiency, ranked #533 of 539 in PA (top 99%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover; 81% free/reduced lunch — lower-income household profile, screen leases tightly.
- Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+6.9%/yr); 138 active listings in the ZIP; 22 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals at typical pace (median 24d on market — plan ~3-4 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); lower-income renter base — watch delinquency; 299 units permitted in Delaware County in 2024 (5 in 5+ unit buildings).
- At $1,619/mo this rent would consume 47% of the median local household income ($41k/yr) (locally 2668% of renters already pay >50% of income on rent) — very limited rent-growth headroom before tenants either downsize or default.
Forward outlook
- Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $552 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $2k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
- At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 6.9% rent growth), your $22k cash investment doubles in ~4 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
Negotiation context
- It's been on market 111 days — a 9% lower offer ($73k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
- 2 sale attempts; this cycle's ask has dropped $9k (10%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
Risks & watch-outs
- Watch-outs: built in 1920 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
- Climate carrying-cost: major wind risk, 27% chance of damaging wind over 30y; extreme-heat days projected 7→15/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
Questions for the listing agent
- It's been on market 111 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 9% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
- Built in 1920 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
- Why hasn't it sold? Are there any deal-killer items the seller is aware of (foundation, flood, title, zoning, code violations)?
- 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?
- Crime grade is F in this area — have there been break-ins, vandalism, or insurance claims at this property in the last 3 years? What carrier currently insures it and at what premium?
- 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.
Investment metrics
- 1% rule
- 2.03% ✓
- Cap rate
- 16.42%
- Cash-on-cash
- 36.15%
- DSCR
- 2.61
- GRM
- 4.1
CMA / ARV
- ARV (median comp)
- $82,778
- List price
- $79,900
- Delta
- -3.48%
- Verdict
- FAIR
- Comps
- 20 within 1.0 mi
Show comp detail 12 sales within ~0.75 mi
| Address | Dist | Beds/Ba | Sqft | Sold | Price | $/sf | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 921 Mcdowell Ave | 0.10mi | 3/1.0 | 1,108 (0%) | 3mo | $74,000 | $67 | 92 |
| 936 Mcdowell Ave | 0.08mi | 3/1.0 | 1,108 (0%) | 6mo | $90,000 | $81 | 91 |
| 1118 Brown St | 0.17mi | 3/1.0 | 1,092 (-1%) | 1mo | $147,000 | $135 | 89 |
| 1109 Brown St | 0.14mi | 3/1.0 | 1,092 (-1%) | 3mo | $47,000 | $43 | 88 |
| 1105 Brown St | 0.13mi | 3/1.0 | 1,080 (-2%) | 4mo | $50,000 | $46 | 87 |
| 1018 Remington St | 0.11mi | 3/1.0 | 1,032 (-7%) | 6mo | $138,000 | $134 | 78 |
| 1124 Thomas St | 0.17mi | 3/1.0 | 1,046 (-6%) | 6mo | $70,000 | $67 | 77 |
| 1105 Terrill St | 0.21mi | 3/1.0 | 1,018 (-8%) | 7mo | $140,000 | $138 | 71 |
| 853 E 14th St | 0.26mi | 4/2.0 (+1) | 1,152 (+4%) | 4mo | $210,000 | $182 | 69 |
| 1424 Ridley Ave | 0.36mi | 3/1.0 | 1,248 (+13%) | 2mo | $130,000 | $104 | 60 |
| 1127 E 11th St | 0.40mi | 3/1.0 | 1,210 (+9%) | 7mo | $177,500 | $147 | 60 |
| 1008 E 18th St | 0.57mi | 3/1.0 | 1,200 (+8%) | 1mo | $200,000 | $167 | 59 |
Match score weights: distance 35% · size 25% · config 20% · recency 20%. Top-matched comps best support the ARV.
Projected returns pro-forma
-3.0% appreciation · 6.88% rent growth · sell at horizon
- IRR
- 36.4%
- Equity multiple
- 2.64×
- Total profit
- $36,603
- Equity at exit
- $11,913
- IRR
- 45.1%
- Equity multiple
- 6.21×
- Total profit
- $116,565
- Equity at exit
- $6,908
Cash invested: $22,372 (down + closing). Projections, not guarantees.
Landlord ↔ Tenant lean methodology
- Overall (STATE)
- 62 Landlord-Friendly
- State Pennsylvania
- 62 Landlord-Friendly · EVEN
- County
- — inherits STATE
- City
- — inherits STATE
ZIP-level market 19013
- Rents YoY
- 6.9%
- Active inventory
- 138
- Price-to-rent
- 4.1×
Monthly cashflow live
- Estimated rent
- $1,619 high interval (Pro) →
- Mortgage (P&I)
- −$419
- Tax from tax record
- −$152 /mo · $1,828/yr
- Insurance
- −$33
- HOA
- −$0
- Vacancy / Maint / Mgmt
- −$340
- Net cashflow
- $674
Break-even live
UW: 25.0% down · 7.5% · 30yr · 1.5% tax · 5.0% vac · 8.0% maint · 8.0% mgmt
Financing live
Cash to close
- Down payment
- $19,975
- Closing costs
- $2,397
- Reserves months
- —
- Total cash needed
- —
Loan-product check · same deal, 3 products live
Conventional
25% down · 7.5% · 30yr
- Down + closing
- —
- Monthly P&I
- —
- Monthly cashflow
- —
- DSCR
- —
- Eligible?
- —
Personal DTI + credit; lowest rate.
DSCR
20% down · 8.5% · 30yr
- Down + closing
- —
- Monthly P&I
- —
- Monthly cashflow
- —
- DSCR
- —
- Eligible?
- —
No personal income docs; deal must DSCR.
Hard money
10% down · 12.0% · 12mo
- Down + closing
- —
- Monthly P&I
- —
- Monthly cashflow
- —
- DSCR
- —
- Eligible?
- —
Short-term bridge; refi at stabilization.
Rent comps 22 comps
| Address | Beds | Baths | Sqft | Rent | $/sqft | DOM | Units | Dist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1211 Johnson St Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 882 | $1,500 | $1.70 | 2d | 1 | 0.17mi |
| 1124 Thomas St Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1046 | $1,200 | $1.15 | 24d | 1 | 0.19mi |
| 1118 Brown St Unit 318 Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1092 | $1,900 | $1.74 | 14d | 1 | 0.19mi |
| 1127 Walnut St Chester, PA | 4.0 | 1.5 | 1312 | $1,600 | $1.22 | 7d | 1 | 0.20mi |
| 1206 Thomas St Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 833 | $1,399 | $1.68 | 24d | 1 | 0.24mi |
| 1510 Washington Ave Chester, PA | 4.0 | 1.5 | 1280 | $2,000 | $1.56 | 18d | 1 | 0.38mi |
| 814 Upland St Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1344 | $1,525 | $1.13 | 7d | 1 | 0.41mi |
| 1312 E 13th St Crum Lynne, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1280 | $1,940 | $1.52 | 18d | 1 | 0.55mi |
| 2015 Hyatt St Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 988 | $1,950 | $1.97 | 10d | 1 | 0.71mi |
| 13 E 21st St Unit A Chester, PA | 2.0 | 1.0 | 900 | $1,250 | $1.39 | 43d | 1 | 0.85mi |
| 125 W 21st St Chester, PA | 4.0 | 1.5 | 1152 | $1,850 | $1.61 | 24d | 1 | 0.91mi |
| 2219 Madison St Unit B Chester, PA | 2.0 | 1.0 | 800 | $1,000 | $1.25 | 43d | 1 | 0.94mi |
| 1944 Ridley Mill Ln Woodlyn, PA | 2.0 | 1.0 | 840 | $1,600 | $1.90 | 43d | 1 | 0.94mi |
| 330 W 21st St Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1152 | $1,500 | $1.30 | 43d | 1 | 0.97mi |
| 314 E 24th St Chester, PA | 2.0 | 1.0–1.5 | 800 | $1,500 | $1.88 | 4d | 13 | 1.02mi |
| 418 Penn St Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1250 | $1,350 | $1.08 | 43d | 1 | 1.02mi |
| 2701 Madison St Chester, PA | 1.0–2.0 | 1.0 | 860 | $1,533 | $1.78 | 1d | 10 | 1.10mi |
| 1400 MacDade Blvd Woodlyn, PA | 1.0–2.0 | 1.0 | 775 | $1,600 | $2.06 | 43d | 2 | 1.18mi |
| 1433 Grant Ave Unit B Woodlyn, PA | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1200 | $1,450 | $1.21 | 43d | 1 | 1.21mi |
| 25 W Parkway Ave Chester, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1324 | $1,600 | $1.21 | 5d | 1 | 1.25mi |
| 2607 Edgmont Ave Unit 2F Brookhaven, PA | 2.0 | 1.0 | 850 | $1,600 | $1.88 | 24d | 1 | 1.39mi |
| 30 W Roland Rd Brookhaven, PA | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1424 | $1,695 | $1.19 | 43d | 1 | 1.46mi |
Listing history 5 events
-
2026-04-13price $79,900 235-char remark
Show marketing remark (235 chars)
Investor Alert!! Newly cleaned out! 3 bedroom brick with covered front porch, large eat in kitchen, handicap accessible shower/ bath, fenced rear yard. Ready for you to come in, renovate and live or rent. Being sold in as-is condition.
-
2026-03-16price $84,900 235-char remark
Show marketing remark (235 chars)
Investor Alert!! Newly cleaned out! 3 bedroom brick with covered front porch, large eat in kitchen, handicap accessible shower/ bath, fenced rear yard. Ready for you to come in, renovate and live or rent. Being sold in as-is condition.
-
2026-02-04$89,000 Active 235-char remark
Show marketing remark (235 chars)
Investor Alert!! Newly cleaned out! 3 bedroom brick with covered front porch, large eat in kitchen, handicap accessible shower/ bath, fenced rear yard. Ready for you to come in, renovate and live or rent. Being sold in as-is condition.
-
2025-09-26historical
-
2025-08-27$99,900 Active
ⓘ Source: listings_history table (triggers on properties + properties_extension) + one-shot
backfill from property_details.listing_events for pre-trigger history.
Tax reassessment forecast PA · Partial reset (capped growth)
- Current annual tax
- $1,828 · $152/mo
- Projected year-2 tax
- $1,828 · $152/mo
- Expected delta
- $0/yr ($0/mo · 0.0%)
ⓘ Screening estimate from a state-policy table — verify with the county assessor before closing.
Climate risk First Street
- Flood 1/10 Low FEMA zone X (unshaded) · 0% chance over 30 yrs
- Wildfire 1/10 Low
- Heat 7/10 Severe 7 d/yr ≥103°F today · 15 d/yr by 30 yrs out
- Wind 6/10 Major 27% chance of damaging wind over 30 yrs
- Air quality 3/10 Moderate 2 unhealthy d/yr today · 4 by 30 yrs out
Nearby sold comps map
Loading sold comps map…
Walkable amenities ~0.75 mi
Loading nearby amenities…
Taxation est. · year 1
- Rental income
- $19,423
- − Mortgage interest
- −$4,476
- − Property taxes
- −$1,828
- − Insurance
- −$400
- − Repairs & maintenance
- −$1,554
- − Management
- −$1,554
- − Depreciation
- −$2,324
- Taxable income
- $7,287
- Est. tax owed @ 24.0%
- −$1,749
- After-tax cash flow
- $6,339/yr
For passive investors: Depreciation is non-cash, so a rental often shows a tax loss while cash-flowing — sheltering income. Rental losses are passive: they offset passive income freely, and up to $25,000/yr can offset ordinary (W-2) income if you actively participate and your MAGI is under $100k (phasing out to $0 by $150k); unused losses carry forward. On sale, claimed depreciation is recaptured at up to 25%, and gains may owe capital-gains tax (a 1031 exchange can defer both). Figures are a year-1 estimate at your 24.0% rate — not tax advice; consult a CPA.
Schools (NCES district)
- District
- Chester-Upland SD
- NCES district ID
- 4205860
- Math proficiency
- 4% ▼ -3.00%
- Reading proficiency
- 17% ▼ -6.00%
- Median HH income
- $29,790
- Composite
- 8.05/100
- National rank
- #9918
- State rank
- #533 of 539 in PA
Livability — Chester
- Score
- 73/100
- State rank
- #540
- US rank
- #5053
Category grades
Schools grade is shown separately in the Schools card above.
Census & demographics
- Census place
- Chester, PA
- County
- Delaware County · 399,863 people
- City population
- 35,064
- Metro
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Population (ZIP)
- 35,064
- Household income
- $41,261
- Rent vs Own
- Severe rent burden
- 2668.0
Population outlook (Delaware County) Hauer SSP2
- Today (2025)
- 577,490 people
- By 2030
- 581,243 · +0.6%
- By 2040
- 584,700 · +1.2%
- By 2050
- 586,581 · +1.6%
- By 2075
- 598,706 · +3.7%
- By 2100
- 590,823 · +2.3%
Race, ethnicity, and origin ACS 2023
- Neighborhood character
- Predominantly Black (71%)
- Race & ethnicity
- Black 71% White 14% Hispanic / Latino 9% Two or more races 4%
- Hispanic origin (detail)
- Puerto Rican 6%
- Common ancestry
- Romanian 2%
- Foreign-born
- 4% · Canada
- Languages at home
- 92% English-only · Spanish 6%
Political lean MEDSL · Delaware
- 2024 margin
- Strong D (+23.7) · D 61.4% · R 37.6% · Other 1.0%
- 2008→2024 swing
- +2.3pp toward D · 2008: 21.4pp · 2024: 23.7pp
- All cycles
- 2024: D+23.7 2020: D+26.7 2016: D+22.0 2012: D+21.8 2008: D+21.4
Not yet ingested
- Civics
- —
Market trends
- HPI YoY
- ▼ -149.69%
- Current HPI
- 219.5173
- Rent YoY
- ▲ 6.88%
- Metro
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- State GDP YoY
- ▲ 1.68%
- F500 in state
- 34
Industry mix (Fortune 500 HQ in PA)
| Industry | F500 HQs | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 2 | $309B |
|
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| Insurance | 2 | $27B |
|
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| Telecommunications / Media | 1 | $124B |
|
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| Industrial Distribution | 1 | $22B |
|
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| Financial Services | 1 | $20B |
|
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| Chemicals / Materials | 1 | $18B |
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Price history
-20.0% since first listed5 events — show timeline
- 2026-04-13 Price Changed $79,900 BRIGHT MLS
- 2026-03-16 Price Changed $84,900 BRIGHT MLS
- 2026-02-04 Listed $89,000 BRIGHT MLS
- 2025-09-26 Listing Removed — BRIGHT MLS
- 2025-08-27 Listed $99,900 BRIGHT MLS
Property tax history
+23.7%/yrLatest (2026): $1,828 · +143.3% YoY. Source: county tax records.
Cash-flow waterfall
monthlySold comps — $/sqft
last 12 mo · ≤1 miLoading sold comps…