1260 Cramton Ave NE

Forest Hills, MI 49301

$409,000D

3 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,647 sqft · Built 1945 · SingleFamily · Pending · 4 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,735/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$2,145
• Tax + insurance: −$554
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$574
• Net cashflow: $-538/mo
• Annual: $-6,461/yr
• Cap rate: 4.71%
• Cash-on-cash: -5.64%
• DSCR: 0.75
• 1% rule: 0.67%
• Cash to close: $114,520

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $409k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-538 ($-6k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $314k (23.3% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $274k (33.1% below list).
• Only 4 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $274k (33.1% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $3k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $12k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 76/100 on livability (#139 in MI, #3,404 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: employment A+, housing A+, crime A; Watch: cost of living C-, amenities F, commute F.
• Forest Hills Public Schools (suburban): math 65% / reading 74% proficiency, ranked #11 of 540 in MI (top 2%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease; only 8% free/reduced lunch — higher-income household profile.
• Zoned schools: Knapp Forest Elementary School (math 75% / reading 78%, grade A, #33 of 1,397 statewide, top 2%, 572 students, 8% FRL); Eastern Middle School (math 69% / reading 81%, grade A, #8 of 493 statewide, top 3%, 552 students, 14% FRL); Eastern High School (math 67% / reading 82%, grade B+, #19 of 713 statewide, top 3%, 802 students, 15% FRL) — zoned schools at 12% FRL track the district average.
• Watch-outs: built in 1945 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 121 active listings in the ZIP; 2,253 units permitted in Kent County in 2024 (969 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Kent County population projected at +22% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 7 sale attempts since 23y ago with the ask held roughly flat each time — persistent listings suggest the price (not the market) is what's stuck; bring a comps-based counter.
• Cap rate 4.7% vs local median 2.8% in Forest Hills — 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

• What do current leases actually rent for vs. the listed asking? Can we see a recent rent roll and the last 12 months of T-12 income?
• Built in 1945 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
• Schools are A-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?
• The area grade is low — what's the realistic commute time and amenity access for the typical tenant pool here? Any planned neighborhood developments (good or bad) we should know about?
• 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.