156 Mather St

North Haven, CT 06517

$299,900D

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,552 sqft · Built 1924 · SingleFamily · Under Contract · 17 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,738/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,573
• Tax + insurance: −$834
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$575
• Net cashflow: $-244/mo
• Annual: $-2,932/yr
• Cap rate: 5.32%
• Cash-on-cash: -3.49%
• DSCR: 0.84
• 1% rule: 0.91%
• Cash to close: $83,972

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $300k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-244 ($-3k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $257k (14.4% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $274k (8.7% below list).
• It's been on market 17 days — a 2% lower offer ($295k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $257k (14.4% below list) — sets the bar for cash-flow.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $2k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $9k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 78/100 on livability (#39 in CT, #2,723 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: employment A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F, cost of living D-.
• Hamden School District (suburban): math 30% / reading 43% proficiency, ranked #106 of 153 in CT (top 69%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Spring Glen School (math 68% / reading 73%, grade A-, #75 of 553 statewide, top 14%, 370 students, 24% FRL); Hamden Middle School (math 27% / reading 43%, grade F, #123 of 175 statewide, top 70%, 811 students, 40% FRL); Hamden High School (math 21% / reading 44%, grade F, #125 of 194 statewide, top 66%, 1,672 students, 39% FRL) — zoned schools at 34% FRL track the district average.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 2.8% of price; built in 1924 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents flat; 83 active listings in the ZIP; 34 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals leasing fast (median 6d on market — plan ~1-2 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); solid renter incomes; 1,059 units permitted in South Central Connecticut Planning Region in 2024 (779 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 4 sale attempts since 26y ago; this cycle's ask has dropped $30k (9%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• Current owner paid $141k; list at $300k implies a 113% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Climate carrying-cost: major wind risk, 55% chance of damaging wind over 30y; extreme-heat days projected 7→16/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 5.3% vs local median 4.0% in North Haven — 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.
• This rent runs 31% of the median local income ($105k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

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 1924 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• Property tax is high relative to price — has the assessment been appealed recently, and will the sale trigger a re-assessment?
• 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.