308 W Houghton Ave

Houghton, MI 49931

$195,000D

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,368 sqft · Built 1918 · SingleFamily · Active · 114 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,641/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,023
• Tax + insurance: −$225
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$345
• Net cashflow: $49/mo
• Annual: $587/yr
• Cap rate: 6.59%
• Cash-on-cash: 1.08%
• DSCR: 1.05
• 1% rule: 0.84%
• Cash to close: $54,600

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $195k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $49 ($587/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 $164k (15.9% below list).
• It's been on market 114 days — a 9% lower offer ($177k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $164k (15.9% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $1k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $6k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 77/100 on livability (#118 in MI, #2,903 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, health & safety A+; Watch: housing D+, commute F, employment F.
• Houghton-Portage Township School District (rural): math 65% / reading 69% proficiency, ranked #29 of 540 in MI (top 5%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Zoned schools: Houghton Elementary School (math 69% / reading 65%, grade B+, #105 of 1,397 statewide, top 9%, 643 students, 35% FRL); Houghton Middle School (math 61% / reading 67%, grade B+, #39 of 493 statewide, top 8%, 341 students, 32% FRL); Houghton Central High School (math 67% / reading 82%, grade B+, #19 of 713 statewide, top 3%, 461 students, 25% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1918 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 49 active listings in the ZIP; 111 units permitted in Houghton County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Houghton County population projected to shrink 10% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• 2 sale attempts; this cycle's ask has dropped $30k (13%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.

Questions for listing agent

• It's been on market 114 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 16% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1918 — 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 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.