1206 Summerlea Ave, Washington, PA 15301 — 34.3% Cash-on-Cash

About this property

1206 Summerlea Ave is a single-family property in Washington, PA 15301, offering nearly 2,000 square feet of finished living space on a compact, low-maintenance lot.

The listing describes a property in overall good condition with several mechanical updates already done — the roof is under 13 years old, the furnace under 10, and the water heater under 10. That's meaningful for an investor underwriting near-term capital expenditures; the big-ticket systems aren't due for replacement soon.

The floor plan has more flexibility than the three-bedroom count suggests. The listing notes a basement with enough ceiling height to finish a fourth bedroom, and a breakfast nook positioned directly below the upstairs bathroom — making a second bath addition structurally straightforward. Hardwood floors run under the existing carpet throughout.

The lot is 4,356 square feet — small enough that maintenance costs stay low. The property is non-owner occupied and has been on the market 160 days, with a $5,100 price reduction from the original ask. It's listed as-is but described as move-in ready, and carries an assumable FHA mortgage that could benefit certain buyers. Tax-assessed value sits at $113,500 against a $129,900 ask.

The investment case

Rent covers 1.8 times the total monthly payment here — an unusual margin that drives one of the stronger cash-flow profiles in Washington's current market.

List Price

$129,900

Monthly Payment (PITI+HOA)

$879

Principal & Interest

$700

Property Tax

$136

Insurance

$43

HOA

$0

PMI

$0

Est. Monthly Rent

$1,622

Estimated rent based on automated valuation of comparable listings.

Cash-on-Cash Return

34.3%

Cap Rate

14.6%

Monthly Cash Flow

$743

Gross Rent Multiplier

6.7

DSCR

2.3

The numbers are straightforward. At a $129,900 purchase price with an estimated $1,622 monthly rent, the property generates $743 in monthly cash flow after a $879 all-in payment (principal and interest, taxes, insurance). That's not a rounding-error margin — it's a structural gap between income and expense that holds even if rent comes in modestly below estimate.

The cap rate of 14.6% and net operating income of $1,579 per month reflect how efficiently this property converts its price into income. Washington's city average cash-on-cash return is -1.0%, meaning most properties here don't cash-flow at all at standard financing terms. This property's 34.3% CoC return clears the city's tenth-best deal threshold of 29.13% — placing it firmly inside Washington's top-10 cash-flow opportunities.

The gross rent multiplier of 6.7 means the property pays for itself in rent collected in under seven years — well below the 10-to-15 range common in higher-priced markets. A debt service coverage ratio of 2.3 gives lenders and investors alike a wide cushion; most commercial lenders require 1.25.

Total monthly payment of $879 against $1,622 in estimated rent leaves room for vacancy, maintenance reserves, and property management without flipping the deal negative. Figures exclude depreciation tax benefits, which vary by individual tax situation.

Annual return outlook

The 44.3% five-year total ROI here is built primarily on cash flow, with appreciation and mortgage paydown as secondary contributors.

Cash flow does the heaviest lifting in this return stack. Of the 44.3% total ROI projected over five years, 34.3 percentage points come from cash-on-cash returns — the monthly income surplus compounding over the hold period. Mortgage paydown adds another 6.1 points as principal reduces with each payment.

Appreciation accounts for 3.8 percentage points, based on Washington's projected annual appreciation rate. That figure is cited from scraped market data. At a $129,900 basis, 3.8% annual appreciation is a modest dollar amount in absolute terms — roughly $5,000 in year one — but it's additive to an already strong income return rather than the primary thesis.

This matters for how an investor should think about hold strategy. The property doesn't require appreciation to justify the purchase; the cash flow case stands on its own. Appreciation is upside, not load-bearing. An investor who needs to exit in year three because of portfolio rebalancing isn't dependent on price movement to recover their position.

With 77% of the projected 5-year return coming from cash flow and paydown alone, this deal's return profile is income-driven — a more predictable base than appreciation-dependent plays in the same market.

How it compares to nearby for-sale listings

Five active three-bedroom listings in the 15301 zip code provide a clear price-per-square-foot context for evaluating this property's ask.

At $129,900, this property is priced at roughly $66 per square foot on 1,958 finished square feet. The for-sale comp median in the zip sits at $255,000 — nearly double the ask here. Even the lowest-priced comp in the set, at $169,900 with 1,380 square feet, implies a price-per-square-foot of around $123 — nearly twice what this property is asking per foot.

That discount to the comp set is the central pricing story. Two of the five comps listed at zero days on market, suggesting active buyer demand at higher price points. This property has been sitting 160 days with a $5,100 reduction already applied — which points to either condition concerns (the as-is designation), buyer hesitation around a single-bathroom layout, or simply a market where investors are the more likely buyer than owner-occupants at this price point.

For an investor, the gap between this property's $129,900 ask and the $255,000 comp median isn't necessarily a red flag — it reflects a different buyer pool. The tax-assessed value of $113,500 provides a floor reference. The property isn't dramatically over-assessed relative to its ask, which limits downside on a forced-sale scenario.

Rental demand in this zip

Rental comp data for the 15301 zip is thin — one comparable three-bedroom rental — but the single data point tells an interesting story relative to this property's estimated rent.

1 comparable rentals in ZIP 15301 — median $2,850/mo, range $2,850–$2,850/mo

The one available rental comp in ZIP 15301 for three-bedroom properties is priced at $2,850 per month. This property's estimated monthly rent of $1,622 sits $1,228 below that single comp — a gap wide enough to warrant scrutiny before accepting either number at face value.

The most likely explanation is a condition or configuration differential. A single-bathroom layout in a property listed as-is will rent at a discount to a comparable three-bedroom with two baths in updated condition. The $1,622 estimate may already reflect that discount, or it may be anchored to a broader dataset than the one local comp suggests.

What this means for underwriting: the $1,622 figure is conservative relative to the comp ceiling, which is favorable for stress-testing. If the property achieves even $1,400 per month — $222 below estimate — the deal still cash-flows positively given the $879 total payment. An investor willing to invest in a second bathroom addition (which the listing describes as structurally feasible) could close some of that gap to the $2,850 comp over time.

With only one comp in the zip, confidence in the exact rent figure is limited. The cash-flow cushion, however, is wide enough that moderate variance in either direction doesn't break the investment case.

Who this property suits + risks to weigh

This property fits a cash-flow-focused investor comfortable with a single-bathroom asset and an as-is purchase — not a value-add flipper or a hands-off institutional buyer.

Best fit

The ideal buyer here is a landlord who wants income from day one and isn't dependent on appreciation to make the math work. The 34.3% cash-on-cash return and $743 monthly surplus give an investor meaningful cash flow even after setting aside a maintenance reserve. The assumable FHA mortgage is worth investigating for buyers who qualify — it could improve financing terms depending on the existing rate.

Someone willing to add a second bathroom — which the listing describes as a plumbing-friendly addition given the layout — could reposition the property toward the higher end of the local rent range over time. That's an optional value-add, not a requirement for the base case to work.

Risks to weigh

The 160-day DOM and as-is listing flag are the clearest signals to investigate before closing. Properties that sit that long typically have a specific objection — condition, financing complications, or pricing that doesn't match buyer expectations for the segment. The $5,100 price reduction suggests the seller has already adjusted once.

The single-bathroom configuration limits the tenant pool and suppresses rent relative to two-bath comps. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's a real constraint on upside. The rental comp set is also thin — one data point at $2,850 — so the $1,622 rent estimate carries more uncertainty than it would in a deeper market. An investor should tour the property and assess condition directly before treating the cash-flow projection as settled.