703 W North St

Winterset, IA 50273

$160,000D-

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 950 sqft · Built 1947 · SingleFamily · Pending · 20 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $970/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$839
• Tax + insurance: −$247
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$204
• Net cashflow: $-319/mo
• Annual: $-3,833/yr
• Cap rate: 3.90%
• Cash-on-cash: -8.56%
• DSCR: 0.62
• 1% rule: 0.61%
• Cash to close: $44,800

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $160k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-319 ($-4k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $104k (35.3% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $97k (39.4% below list).
• It's been on market 20 days — a 2% lower offer ($158k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $97k (39.4% 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 $5k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 78/100 on livability (#139 in IA, #2,547 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F.
• Winterset Community School District (town): math 73% / reading 69% proficiency, ranked #123 of 289 in IA (top 43%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical.
• Zoned schools: Winterset Elementary School (math 82% / reading 47%, grade B, #317 of 616 statewide, top 58%, 499 students, 32% FRL); Winterset Middle School (math 72% / reading 74%, grade A, #87 of 246 statewide, top 36%, 358 students, 35% FRL); Winterset Senior High School (math 71% / reading 72%, grade B+, #134 of 336 statewide, top 41%, 565 students, 35% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1947 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 122 active listings in the ZIP; 2 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 125 units permitted in Madison County in 2024 (51 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Madison County population projected to shrink 7% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• 2 sale attempts since 16y ago; this cycle's ask has dropped $10k (6%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• Current owner paid $88k; list at $160k implies a 83% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 3.9% vs local median 2.2% in Winterset — 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 1947 — 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 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?
• 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.