4643 Coleherne Rd, Baltimore, MD 21229 — 30.0% Cash-on-Cash

About this property

4643 Coleherne Rd is a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom townhouse in Baltimore's 21229 zip, listed at $150,000 with 1,500 square feet of living space.

The listing description hints at a property that reads larger inside than its rowhome exterior suggests. Hardwood floors run throughout the main living areas, and an enclosed front porch adds usable square footage beyond the 1,500 sq ft count — a detail that matters when setting tenant expectations. A detached rear garage is a genuine differentiator in this price range, offering both covered parking and storage that most comparable rowhomes don't carry.

At 18 days on market with no price reduction from the original listing, the property hasn't been sitting — but it hasn't moved instantly either. The tax-assessed value of $144,200 sits just below the $150,000 ask, a narrow gap that suggests the listing is priced close to public-record valuation rather than aspirationally. Non-owner occupied status means this property is already operating in the rental ecosystem, which removes the friction of converting an owner-occupied home to an investment.

Lot size is not reported in public records. Buyers should confirm lot boundaries and any shared-wall maintenance obligations typical of Baltimore rowhomes before closing.

The investment case

The financial profile here is straightforward and unusually strong: a 30% cash-on-cash return at a $150,000 purchase price, against a Baltimore city average of -1.4%.

List Price

$150,000

Monthly Payment (PITI+HOA)

$1,399

Principal & Interest

$819

Property Tax

$280

Insurance

$50

HOA

$250

PMI

$0

Est. Monthly Rent

$2,148

Estimated rent based on automated valuation of comparable listings.

Cash-on-Cash Return

30.0%

Cap Rate

14.8%

Monthly Cash Flow

$749

Gross Rent Multiplier

5.8

DSCR

2.3

At 20% down ($30,000), the monthly payment structure breaks down to $819 in principal and interest at the current 6.66% 30-year fixed rate, plus $280 in property taxes, $50 in insurance, and $250 in HOA fees — totaling $1,399/month. Against an estimated rent of $2,148/month, that leaves $749 in monthly cash flow before maintenance and vacancy reserves.

The cap rate of 14.8% and net operating income of $1,848/month are the numbers that frame this as a genuine income asset rather than a speculative play. A debt service coverage ratio of 2.3 means the property generates more than twice its debt obligation from rent — a cushion that gives meaningful room for vacancy or unexpected expenses without flipping negative. The gross rent multiplier of 5.8 reflects how cheaply the income stream is being acquired relative to price.

The $250/month HOA fee deserves attention. It's a fixed drag on cash flow that doesn't compress during vacancy — meaning a single empty month costs the investor both lost rent and the continued HOA obligation. Buyers should review what the HOA covers (exterior maintenance, common areas, insurance) to assess whether it's additive to the investment or purely a cost center.

Figures exclude depreciation tax benefits, which vary by individual tax situation.

The 30% CoC return places this property at the top of ZIP 21229's investment landscape — 19 percentage points above the zip average and well above Baltimore's city-wide average, which is negative.

Annual return outlook

The 40% total 5-year ROI is built on three components, with cash flow doing the heaviest lifting from day one.

Cash flow contributes 30% of the 40% total return projection — meaning the income side of this deal is doing most of the work without requiring appreciation to validate the purchase. Mortgage paydown adds another 6.1%, a mechanical return that accrues regardless of market conditions as tenants pay down the principal balance. Appreciation accounts for an estimated 3.9% annually, though that figure is a modeled estimate rather than a data-scraped historical rate and should be treated as directional rather than precise.

For a property at this price point, the appreciation contribution matters less than it would for a higher-priced asset where equity gains dominate the return stack. At $150,000, a 3.9% annual gain adds roughly $5,850 in year one — meaningful, but secondary to the $8,988 in annual cash flow the property is projected to generate.

The combined return structure makes this more resilient to an appreciation miss than a typical Baltimore listing. If the city's property market underperforms the estimate, the cash flow and paydown components still produce a defensible return on their own.

How it compares to nearby for-sale listings

Five active 3-bedroom listings in ZIP 21229 provide a pricing anchor, with a median sale price of $175,000 against this property's $150,000 ask.

At $150,000 for 1,500 sq ft, this property prices at $100/sq ft — below the $159,000 comp at 4709 Vancouver Rd, which delivers only 1,008 sq ft at $158/sq ft. That Vancouver Rd listing has been on market just 3 days, so it hasn't tested buyer appetite yet. The $175,000 listing at 315 Mount Holly St (1,140 sq ft) prices at $154/sq ft, again above Coleherne on a per-square-foot basis.

The outlier in the comp set is 4101 Massachusetts Ave at $350,000 for 2,650 sq ft — a different product tier that skews the raw averages but doesn't represent a direct substitute for a buyer targeting this price range. Excluding that listing, the remaining four comps cluster between $159,000 and $240,000, putting 4643 Coleherne at the lower end of the competitive set on both absolute price and price per square foot.

The 3-day and 4-day DOM on two of the five comps suggests active buyer interest in this zip at these price levels. At 18 days, Coleherne is moving slower than the freshest competition — though the absence of any price reduction signals the seller isn't yet under pressure.

Rental demand in this zip

Rental comp data for 3-bedroom units in ZIP 21229 is currently unavailable, which introduces meaningful uncertainty into the $2,148/month rent estimate.

The estimated monthly rent of $2,148 is not supported by a pool of active rental comparables in the 21229 zip at this bedroom count. That absence cuts two ways. It could mean the rental market in this sub-market is thin and difficult to fill at that price — or it could mean inventory is absorbed quickly enough that active listings are rarely visible. Without comp data, neither interpretation is provable from the available information.

The $749/month cash flow projection, and the 30% cash-on-cash return built on top of it, both depend on the $2,148 figure holding. A rent of $1,800/month — roughly 16% below the estimate — would reduce monthly cash flow to approximately $401 and compress the CoC return meaningfully. Investors should conduct independent rent verification through local property managers or active lease comparisons before underwriting at the full estimated figure.

The non-owner-occupied status of the property is a useful signal: if the current owner has been operating it as a rental, actual achieved rent history would be the most reliable data point available. Requesting that documentation during due diligence is worth prioritizing.

Who this property suits + risks to weigh

This property fits a cash-flow-focused investor comfortable with a secondary Baltimore market and willing to stress-test the rent assumption before closing.

Best fit

The deal structure favors a buyer deploying $30,000 in equity who wants immediate income rather than a long appreciation runway. The 2.3 debt service coverage ratio and $749/month projected cash flow mean the property doesn't need to perform at peak assumptions to stay cash-positive — there's room for a rent shortfall or a vacancy period without the investment going underwater on a monthly basis. The detached garage and hardwood floors are tenant-retention features that support occupancy stability at the mid-range of the local rent market.

An investor who already owns Baltimore rentals and has local property management in place would extract more value here than an out-of-market buyer managing remotely without established infrastructure.

Risks to weigh

The $250/month HOA fee is the sharpest structural risk. It's fixed, it doesn't pause during vacancy, and it represents roughly 33% of the projected cash flow on its own. If HOA dues increase — a common occurrence in older associations — the cash flow cushion compresses directly. Buyers should pull the HOA's financials and reserve fund status before committing.

The rent estimate lacks local comp support, which is a real underwriting gap. The 14.8% cap rate and 30% CoC return are compelling on paper, but they're only as durable as the $2,148 rent figure. Achieving that rent in a market with thin comparable data requires a property manager with genuine local knowledge, not a national platform's algorithmic output.

Baltimore's city-wide average cash-on-cash return is -1.4%, which reflects a broader market where income investing is difficult. This property is an exception within that context — not evidence that the broader market has shifted.