280 W Seminary St

Richland Center, WI 53581

$115,000D

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,484 sqft · Built 1900 · Other · Active · 25 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $896/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$603
• Tax + insurance: −$207
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$188
• Net cashflow: $-102/mo
• Annual: $-1,225/yr
• Cap rate: 5.23%
• Cash-on-cash: -3.80%
• DSCR: 0.83
• 1% rule: 0.78%
• Cash to close: $32,200

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath other listed at $115k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-102 ($-1k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $97k (15.7% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $90k (22.1% below list).
• It's been on market 25 days — a 2% lower offer ($113k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $90k (22.1% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $12k of equity ($795 loan paydown + $12k appreciation (10.0% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 74/100 on livability (#167 in WI, #4,412 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: employment C-, commute F.
• Richland School District (rural): math 27% / reading 33% proficiency, ranked #279 of 342 in WI (top 82%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Richland Center Primary School (math 22% / reading 12%, grade F, #885 of 1,041 statewide, top 86%, 288 students, 66% FRL); Richland Center High (math 37% / reading 57%, grade D-, #50 of 483 statewide, top 11%, 563 students, 52% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 53 active listings in the ZIP; 30 units permitted in Richland County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Richland County population projected at -27% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• Current owner paid $59k; list at $115k implies a 95% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• By year 3, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$31k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.
• Climate carrying-cost: moderate flood risk — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 5.2% vs local median 2.0% in Richland Center — 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 1900 — 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 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?
• 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.