140 School St

Elyria, OH 44035

$189,000C

5 bd · 3.0 ba · 3,460 sqft · Built 1900 · MultiFamily · Active · 72 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,142/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$991
• Tax + insurance: −$301
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$450
• Net cashflow: $400/mo
• Annual: $4,799/yr
• Cap rate: 8.83%
• Cash-on-cash: 9.07%
• DSCR: 1.40
• 1% rule: 1.13%
• Cash to close: $52,920

Investor read

• This is a 2 × 2-bed/1.5-bath units multifamily listed at $189k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $400 ($5k/yr) — positive. Per door: $200/mo.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $189k).
• It's been on market 72 days — a 6% lower offer ($178k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $178k (6.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• 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 75/100 on livability (#243 in OH, #3,869 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A; Watch: schools C-, employment D, commute F.
• Elyria City Schools (urban): math 21% / reading 37% proficiency, ranked #586 of 656 in OH (top 89%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+6.7%/yr); 360 active listings in the ZIP; 1,098 units permitted in Lorain County in 2024 (20 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 4 sale attempts since 5y ago; this cycle's ask has dropped $10k (5%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• Current owner paid $58k; list at $189k implies a 229% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 6.7% rent growth), your $53k cash investment doubles in ~9 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 8.8% vs local median 4.0% in Elyria — 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.
• At $2,142/mo this rent would consume 46% of the median local household income ($56k/yr) (locally 2229% of renters already pay >50% of income on rent) — very limited rent-growth headroom before tenants either downsize or default.

Questions for listing agent

• It's been on market 72 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 6% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Can we see the unit-by-unit rent roll, current vacancy, and any below-market leases? What's the average tenancy length?
• What capital expenditures (roof, boiler, parking lot, exteriors) have been made in the last 5 years, and what's planned in the next 2?
• Built in 1900 — 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.
• 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.