1005 E Front St

Buchanan, MI 49107

$95,000D

1 bd · 1.0 ba · 688 sqft · Built 1953 · SingleFamily · Active · 11 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $795/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$498
• Tax + insurance: −$199
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$167
• Net cashflow: $-69/mo
• Annual: $-832/yr
• Cap rate: 5.42%
• Cash-on-cash: -3.13%
• DSCR: 0.86
• 1% rule: 0.84%
• Cash to close: $26,600

Investor read

• This is a 1-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $95k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-69 ($-832/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $83k (12.9% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $80k (16.3% below list).
• Only 11 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $80k (16.3% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $657 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $3k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 75/100 on livability (#152 in MI, #3,811 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: amenities D+, commute F, employment D-.
• Buchanan Community Schools (suburban): math 40% / reading 56% proficiency, ranked #125 of 540 in MI (top 23%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Buchanan Middle School (math 37% / reading 55%, grade D+, #155 of 493 statewide, top 32%, 331 students, 51% FRL); Buchanan High School (math 32% / reading 62%, grade D-, #187 of 713 statewide, top 29%, 522 students, 38% FRL) — zoned schools at 45% FRL track the district average.
• Watch-outs: built in 1953 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 69 active listings in the ZIP; 1 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 397 units permitted in Berrien County in 2024 (40 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Berrien County population projected at -16% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 12 sale attempts with the ask held roughly flat each time — persistent listings suggest the price (not the market) is what's stuck; bring a comps-based counter.
• Current owner paid $50k; list at $95k implies a 90% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 5.4% vs local median 2.6% in Buchanan — 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 1953 — 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.