421 Cedar St

Iowa Falls, IA 50126

$98,000C

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 824 sqft · Built 1905 · SingleFamily · Pending · 220 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $956/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$514
• Tax + insurance: −$73
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$201
• Net cashflow: $168/mo
• Annual: $2,015/yr
• Cap rate: 8.35%
• Cash-on-cash: 7.34%
• DSCR: 1.33
• 1% rule: 0.98%
• Cash to close: $27,440

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $98k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $168 ($2k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $96k (2.5% below list).
• It's been on market 220 days — a 12% lower offer ($86k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $86k (12.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $678 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $3k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 77/100 on livability (#172 in IA, #3,097 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: employment D, amenities F, commute F.
• Iowa Falls Community School District (town): math 62% / reading 71% proficiency, ranked #184 of 289 in IA (top 64%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Watch-outs: built in 1905 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 90 active listings in the ZIP; 6 units permitted in Hardin County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Hardin County population projected to shrink 6% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• Current owner paid $63k; list at $98k implies a 56% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 8.3% vs local median 3.8% in Iowa Falls — 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 220 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 12% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1905 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• 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 B-rated — typically a magnet for longer-tenancy family renters. What's the average tenant stay here, and is there a school-zone premium baked into asking?
• 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.