211 Melrose St

Luzerne, PA 15433

$12,950C-

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,016 sqft · Built 1930 · MultiFamily · Active · 84 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $953/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$68
• Tax + insurance: −$48
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$200
• Net cashflow: $637/mo
• Annual: $7,643/yr
• Cap rate: 65.31%
• Cash-on-cash: 210.77%
• DSCR: 10.38
• 1% rule: 7.36%
• Cash to close: $3,626

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath multifamily listed at $13k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $637 ($8k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($953 rent vs $13k).
• It's been on market 84 days — a 6% lower offer ($12k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $12k (6.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• In year one you build about $912 of equity ($90 loan paydown + $822 appreciation (6.3% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 76/100 on livability (#391 in PA, #3,538 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities C-, schools D+, commute F.
• Brownsville Area SD (rural): math 17% / reading 34% proficiency, ranked #472 of 539 in PA (top 88%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 4.0% of price; built in 1930 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 5 active listings in the ZIP; 201 units permitted in Fayette County in 2024 (10 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Fayette County population projected at -19% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• At projected returns (6.3% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $4k cash investment doubles in ~1 year — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 65.3% vs local median 6.1% in Luzerne — 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

• It's been on market 84 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 6% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1930 — 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?
• 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 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?
• 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.