701 Sugar Palm St, Largo, FL 33778 — 32.0% Cash-on-Cash

About this property

701 Sugar Palm St is a 2-bedroom, 2-bath manufactured home in a 55-plus community in Largo, FL, listed at $90,000 as a cash-only sale.

The property sits inside Palm Hill Country Club, a 55-plus community that comes with a 9-hole golf course, two pools, pickleball and tennis courts, and two clubhouses. That amenity stack is unusual for a home at this price point and directly shapes the tenant profile any investor would be courting.

The floor plan runs 1,000 square feet across two bedrooms and two full baths, with a Florida room that adds functional flex space beyond the core living area. A covered carport rounds out the exterior. Neither a lot size nor a year built is on record in the listing data.

The property has been on the market 37 days without a price reduction from its original ask. The tax-assessed value sits at $125,261 — roughly 39% above the $90,000 list price — which is an unusual inversion that prospective buyers should examine before closing. The listing is flagged non-owner-occupied and is not in pre-foreclosure. The cash-only requirement narrows the buyer pool considerably, which likely explains the extended days on market.

The investment case

No property currently listed in ZIP 33778 matches the 32.0% cash-on-cash return here — more than double the zip average of 13.8% and nearly seven times Largo's city average of 4.6%.

List Price

$90,000

Monthly Payment (PITI+HOA)

$1,264

Principal & Interest

$503

Property Tax

$136

Insurance

$30

HOA

$595

PMI

$0

Est. Monthly Rent

$1,744

Estimated rent based on automated valuation of comparable listings.

Cash-on-Cash Return

32.0%

Cap Rate

14.9%

Monthly Cash Flow

$480

Gross Rent Multiplier

4.3

DSCR

2.2

The math starts with an all-cash purchase at $90,000. Because there's no financing, the principal-and-interest line is modest at $503 per month, though the $595 HOA fee dominates the monthly expense stack. Total monthly outflow comes to $1,264 against an estimated rent of $1,744, leaving $480 in monthly cash flow before any capital expenditure reserve.

The cap rate of 14.9% — derived from a net operating income of $1,119 per month — is well above what most investors find in this market. Largo's median listing price is $375,000, and the city's average cash-on-cash sits at 4.6%. This property's numbers are structurally different because the acquisition price is so far below the city median, and the HOA covers enough of the operational burden to keep uninsured expenses low.

The debt service coverage ratio of 2.2 means the property generates more than twice the income needed to cover its debt obligations — a comfortable cushion even if rent comes in below estimate. The gross rent multiplier of 4.3 implies the property pays for itself in rent collected in roughly four years, a figure that compares favorably to typical residential real estate.

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

The HOA fee is the single largest monthly cost line. Investors should confirm exactly what it covers — and what it doesn't — before underwriting.

5-year return outlook

The projected 53.5% total five-year ROI is driven primarily by cash flow, with appreciation and mortgage paydown as secondary contributors.

Of the 53.5% five-year total return, cash flow accounts for 32.0 percentage points — the dominant engine. Appreciation adds an estimated 14.0 points, and mortgage paydown contributes 7.5 points.

The appreciation figure is an estimate rather than a data-verified projection. Largo's annual appreciation is modeled at approximately 2.8% per year. On a $90,000 asset, that's a modest absolute dollar gain — around $2,520 annually at that rate — so appreciation isn't doing the heavy lifting here. Cash yield is.

That structure is actually a more durable profile than appreciation-dependent returns. If the local market softens, the property still generates $480 per month in cash flow as long as occupancy holds. The risk scenario isn't price depreciation — it's vacancy or a rent estimate that proves optimistic, both of which are real considerations given the absence of direct rental comps in this zip code.

Mortgage paydown at 7.5 percentage points reflects the gradual equity build from debt service on a relatively small loan balance. It's a real return component, just not the one moving the needle at this price point.

How it compares to nearby for-sale listings

Five comparable 2-bedroom listings are active in ZIP 33778, ranging from $10,000 to $320,000, with a median of $150,000.

At $90,000, this property is 40% below the for-sale comp median of $150,000 in the zip. Price per square foot here is $90 on 1,000 square feet. The nearest comp at $145,000 for 963 square feet works out to roughly $151 per square foot — 68% higher on that metric alone.

The comp set is worth examining carefully. One listing at $10,000 for 768 square feet is an outlier that likely reflects a distressed or lot-only situation. Another at $320,000 for 1,092 square feet — $293 per square foot — is almost certainly a different property class entirely, not a manufactured home. Stripping those two and looking at the remaining three comps, the range runs $145,000 to $179,000, which reinforces that $90,000 is a meaningful discount to the local market for comparable square footage.

Days on market for comps range from 6 to 42 days. At 37 days, this property is near the high end of that range, consistent with the cash-only requirement limiting buyer demand. The listing hasn't moved price, which suggests the seller isn't panicking — but the restricted financing pool is a real constraint on exit liquidity if an investor later wants to sell.

Rental demand in this zip

There are no active rental comps recorded in ZIP 33778 for 2-bedroom properties, leaving the $1,744 monthly rent estimate without direct market validation.

The estimated monthly rent of $1,744 is the figure underpinning the entire cash-flow projection, and it currently has no comparable rental data to anchor it. That's a meaningful caveat. Investors should treat the $480 monthly cash flow as a projection, not a confirmed number, until independent rental market research confirms what 2-bedroom units in this specific 55-plus community actually lease for.

The 55-plus age restriction at Palm Hill Country Club narrows the tenant pool by definition. That isn't necessarily a negative — age-qualified communities often see lower turnover and more stable occupancy among retirees on fixed incomes — but it does mean the property can't simply be rented to any qualified applicant. The HOA likely enforces occupancy rules, and investors need to confirm those rules explicitly before assuming the property is freely rentable.

If the rent estimate is even 10% optimistic — say $1,570 instead of $1,744 — monthly cash flow drops to roughly $306, and the cash-on-cash return compresses accordingly. The deal still works at that scenario, but the margin of error is narrower than the headline numbers suggest. Rent verification is the single most important due-diligence step here.

Who this property suits + risks to weigh

This property suits a cash-buyer investor comfortable with age-restricted communities and willing to do the rent verification work the absent comp data demands.

Best fit

The cash-only sale requirement immediately filters out most retail buyers and leveraged investors. The buyer this deal is built for has liquid capital, wants yield over appreciation, and is comfortable with manufactured housing as an asset class. The 32.0% cash-on-cash return and 14.9% cap rate are genuinely unusual at this price point — investors who've been priced out of higher-cost Florida markets may find this a workable entry into Pinellas County real estate at a fraction of the $375,000 city median.

The 55-plus community structure could also appeal to investors who prefer a more stable, lower-turnover tenant demographic. Retirees seeking an amenity-rich lifestyle in a managed community tend to be longer-term renters than younger transient populations.

Risks to weigh

The $595 monthly HOA fee is the dominant expense line and leaves little room for increases. If the HOA raises dues, cash flow compresses directly. Investors should pull the HOA's financials and reserve fund status before closing.

The tax-assessed value of $125,261 against a $90,000 purchase price is an anomaly worth understanding. It may reflect a prior sale, an assessment lag, or a structural issue with the property that drove the price down. Either way, it warrants explanation.

The absence of rental comps means the $1,744 rent estimate is unverified. The 55-plus occupancy restriction limits who can rent the property. And manufactured homes in age-restricted communities can be harder to finance and resell, compressing exit options if the investor needs liquidity. These aren't deal-killers, but they're real constraints that belong in any honest underwrite.