601 Cherry Aly

South Heights, PA 15081

$125,000D-

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 882 sqft · Built 1890 · SingleFamily · Pending · 3 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $870/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$656
• Tax + insurance: −$91
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$183
• Net cashflow: $-59/mo
• Annual: $-711/yr
• Cap rate: 5.72%
• Cash-on-cash: -2.03%
• DSCR: 0.91
• 1% rule: 0.70%
• Cash to close: $35,000

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $125k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-59 ($-711/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $115k (8.4% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $87k (30.4% below list).
• Only 3 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $87k (30.4% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $10k of equity ($864 loan paydown + $9k appreciation (7.4% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 77/100 on livability (#368 in PA, #3,206 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F, health & safety F.
• Ambridge Area SD (suburban): math 23% / reading 48% proficiency, ranked #408 of 539 in PA (top 76%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Highland El Sch (math 8% / reading 27%, grade F, #1,295 of 1,518 statewide, top 86%, 316 students, 99% FRL); Ambridge Area Ms (math 13% / reading 45%, grade F, #391 of 512 statewide, top 77%, 467 students, 99% FRL); Ambridge Area Hs (math 42% / reading 24%, grade F, #325 of 437 statewide, top 75%, 733 students, 92% FRL) — zoned schools average 97% FRL vs 43% district-wide (54 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Watch-outs: built in 1890 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 4 active listings in the ZIP; 6 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals lingering (median 46d on market — plan ~5-8 weeks vacancy on turnover, expect pricing pressure); 67% of comp listings sitting > 30 days — soft ceiling on asking rent; 272 units permitted in Beaver County in 2024 (80 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Beaver County population projected at -14% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• Current owner paid $28k; list at $125k implies a 346% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (7.4% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $35k cash investment doubles in ~4 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• By year 4, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$35k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.
• Cap rate 5.7% vs local median 3.2% in South Heights — 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.

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 1890 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• 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.