302 Center St · Middletown, IA 52638

$59,000

2 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,273 sqft · SingleFamily public records · 19 Days on market

Built 1900 0.36 ac lot

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Why this score? — see what drove the B+ grade

The composite is a weighted blend of 9 inputs, each scored 0–100. Each bar is that input's sub-score; the figure is the points it added to the 100-point composite (weight × sub-score).

• Cash flow +30.0/30.0
• 1% rule +10.0/10.0
• DSCR +10.0/10.0
• ARV discount +7.5/15.0
• Appreciation +6.7/10.0
• Schools +4.0/10.0
• Livability +3.5/5.0
• Rent growth +2.5/5.0
• Condition / age +2.5/5.0

Listing remarks

Opportunity awaits at this 3-bedroom, 1-bath home in Middletown! Situated on a spacious lot, this property offers plenty of potential for investors, flippers, or buyers looking to build sweat equity. The home is in need of repairs and updates and is being sold strictly AS-IS. Due to the property's condition, cash or conventional financing only. With the right vision and improvements, this could be a fantastic investment or future residence. Bring your tools, creativity, and ideas—this is your chance to transform a property with great potential into something special.

Key facts

• 0.36 acre lot
• Built 1900
• Listed 19 days

Property features AI

Exterior

• Utilities: Natural gas available
• Home design: 2-story property; Asphalt shingle roof
• Construction: Built on standard foundation
• Exterior features: Concrete road access; Residential zoning

Interior

• Bathrooms: 1 full bathroom; 1 half bathroom
• Heating & cooling: Forced air heating; Natural gas heating
• Interior features: Forced air heating (natural gas)

What this means for you Summary

Snapshot

• This is a 2-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $59k.

Deal economics

• At list price, monthly cash flow is $429 ($5k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $59k).
• Recommended offer: $58k (1.5% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.

Location & tenants

• Location reads 69/100 on livability (#402 in IA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, employment B; Watch: health & safety C-, amenities F, commute F.
• Burlington Community School District (town): math 42% / reading 54% proficiency, ranked #286 of 289 in IA (top 99%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Black Hawk Elementary School (math 52% / reading 52%, grade C-, #494 of 616 statewide, top 83%, 316 students, 72% FRL); Edward Stone Middle School (math 34% / reading 48%, grade F, #236 of 246 statewide, top 96%, 489 students, 63% FRL); Burlington Community High School (math 45% / reading 64%, grade C-, #290 of 336 statewide, top 87%, 1,092 students, 58% FRL).
• Market conditions: 8 active listings in the ZIP; 53 units permitted in Des Moines County in 2024 (40 in 5+ unit buildings).

Forward outlook

• In year one you build about $2k of equity ($408 loan paydown + $2k appreciation (3.4% local appreciation)).
• Des Moines County population projected to shrink 6% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• At projected returns (3.4% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $17k cash investment doubles in ~3 years — after that, you're playing with house money.

Negotiation context

• It's been on market 19 days — a 2% lower offer ($58k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.

Risks & watch-outs

• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.

Recommended offer $58,115 (1.5% below list)

Questions for the listing agent

1. Built in 1900 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
2. Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
3. Schools are D-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.

Investment metrics

• 1% rule: 1.81% ✓
• Cap rate: 15.02%
• Cash-on-cash: 31.16%
• DSCR: 2.39
• GRM: 4.6

CMA / ARV

No comps found within radius.

Projected returns pro-forma

3.4% appreciation · 3.0% rent growth · sell at horizon

5-year hold

• IRR: 37.6%
• Equity multiple: 3.16×
• Total profit: $35,718
• Equity at exit: $27,884

10-year hold

• IRR: 37.3%
• Equity multiple: 6.29×
• Total profit: $87,351
• Equity at exit: $44,056

Cash invested: $16,520 (down + closing). Projections, not guarantees.

Landlord ↔ Tenant lean methodology

• Overall (STATE): 83 Strongly Landlord-Friendly
• State Iowa: 83 Strongly Landlord-Friendly · R+6
• County: — inherits STATE
• City: — inherits STATE

3-day pay-or-quit; mostly landlord-friendly statewide.

Methodology + full state rankings →

ZIP-level market 52638

• Home prices YoY: 2.6%
• Active inventory: 8
• Price-to-rent: 4.6×

Monthly cashflow live

• Estimated rent: $1,066 medium
• Mortgage (P&I): −$309
• Tax from tax record: −$79 /mo · $948/yr
• Insurance: −$25
• HOA: −$0
• Vacancy / Maint / Mgmt: −$224
• Net cashflow: $429

Break-even live

Break-even rent $523

Max offer price $59,000

Occupancy floor 55%

Sensitivity live

Price	-10% $462	-5% $446	+0% $429	+5% $412	+10% $396
Rent	-10% $345	-5% $387	+0% $429	+5% $471	+10% $513
Rate	-1.0pp $459	-0.5pp $444	base $429	+0.5pp $414	+1.0pp $398

UW: 25.0% down · 7.5% · 30yr · 1.5% tax · 5.0% vac · 8.0% maint · 8.0% mgmt

Financing live

Cash to close

• Down payment: $14,750
• Closing costs: $1,770
• Reserves months: —
• Total cash needed: —

Listing history 15 events

1. 2026-06-21
   days on market $59,000 Active 19 DOM
2. 2026-06-19
   days on market $59,000 Active 17 DOM
3. 2026-06-18
   days on market $59,000 Active 16 DOM
4. 2026-06-17
   days on market $59,000 Active 15 DOM
5. 2026-06-17
   price $59,000 Active 14 DOM
6. 2026-06-16
   days on market $64,000 Active 14 DOM
7. 2026-06-15
   days on market $64,000 Active 13 DOM
8. 2026-06-14
   days on market $64,000 Active 11 DOM
9. 2026-06-12
   pricedays on market $64,000 Active 10 DOM
10. 2026-06-09
    days on market $69,000 Active 7 DOM
11. 2026-06-08
    days on market $69,000 Active 6 DOM
12. 2026-06-07
    days on market $69,000 Active 5 DOM
13. 2026-06-07
    days on market $69,000 Active 4 DOM
14. 2026-06-03
    remarks 573-char remark
15. 2026-06-03
    listed $69,000 Active 1 DOM

ⓘ Source: listings_history table (triggers on properties + properties_extension) + one-shot backfill from property_details.listing_events for pre-trigger history.

Tax reassessment forecast IA · Partial reset (capped growth)

• Current annual tax: $948 · $79/mo
• Projected year-2 tax: $948 · $79/mo
• Expected delta: $0/yr ($0/mo · 0.0%)

ⓘ Screening estimate from a state-policy table — verify with the county assessor before closing.

Climate risk First Street

• 🌊 Flood 1/10 Low FEMA zone X (unshaded) · 0% chance over 30 yrs
• 🔥 Wildfire 3/10 Moderate
• 🌡 Heat 3/10 Moderate 7 d/yr ≥105°F today · 16 d/yr by 30 yrs out
• 💨 Wind 2/10 Low
• 🫁 Air quality 2/10 Low 1 unhealthy d/yr today · 2 by 30 yrs out

Taxation est. · year 1

• Rental income: $12,788
• − Mortgage interest: −$3,305
• − Property taxes: −$948
• − Insurance: −$295
• − Repairs & maintenance: −$1,023
• − Management: −$1,023
• − Depreciation: −$1,716
• Taxable income: $4,478
• Est. tax owed @ 24.0%: −$1,075
• After-tax cash flow: $4,072/yr

For passive investors: Depreciation is non-cash, so a rental often shows a tax loss while cash-flowing — sheltering income. Rental losses are passive: they offset passive income freely, and up to $25,000/yr can offset ordinary (W-2) income if you actively participate and your MAGI is under $100k (phasing out to $0 by $150k); unused losses carry forward. On sale, claimed depreciation is recaptured at up to 25%, and gains may owe capital-gains tax (a 1031 exchange can defer both). Figures are a year-1 estimate at your 24.0% rate — not tax advice; consult a CPA.

Schools (NCES district)

• District: Burlington Community School District
• NCES district ID: 1905790
• Math proficiency: 42% ▼ -4.00%
• Reading proficiency: 54% ▼ -1.00%
• Median HH income: $41,833
• Composite: 40.3/100
• National rank: #3753
• State rank: #286 of 289 in IA

Livability — Middletown

• Score: 69/100
• State rank: #402
• US rank: #8578

Category grades

Amenities F Commute F Cost of living A+ Crime B- Employment B Housing A+ Health & safety C- User ratings A

Schools grade is shown separately in the Schools card above.

Census & demographics

• Census place: Middletown, IA
• Population (ZIP): 427

Population outlook (Des Moines County) Hauer SSP2

• Today (2025): 39,735 people
• By 2030: 39,257 · -1.2%
• By 2040: 38,090 · -4.1%
• By 2050: 37,156 · -6.5%
• By 2075: 36,905 · -7.1%
• By 2100: 37,222 · -6.3%

Race, ethnicity, and origin ACS 2023

• Neighborhood character: Predominantly White (96%)
• Race & ethnicity: White 96% Two or more races 4%
• Common ancestry: Slovak 4% Serbian 2% Portuguese 2%

Political lean MEDSL · Des Moines

• 2024 margin: R (+15.1) · D 41.8% · R 56.8% · Other 1.4%
• 2008→2024 swing: -38.1pp toward R · 2008: 23.0pp · 2024: -15.1pp
• All cycles: 2024: R+15.1 2020: R+8.5 2016: R+7.0 2012: D+18.5 2008: D+23.0

Not yet ingested

• Civics: —

Market trends

• HPI YoY: ▲ 3.40%
• Current HPI: 134.9542
• Rent YoY: —
• Metro: —
• State GDP YoY: ▲ 2.48%
• F500 in state: 4

Industry mix (Fortune 500 HQ in IA)

Industry	F500 HQs	Revenue
▸Financial Services	1	$16B
▸Retail / Convenience	1	$15B

Price history

1 event — show timeline

• 2026-06-02 Listed $69,000 DMMLS

Property tax history

+1.7%/yr

Latest (2025): $948 · +16.2% YoY. Source: county tax records.