4856 Carey St

East Chicago, IN 46312

$129,900B

6 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,276 sqft · Built 1918 · MultiFamily · Active · 1 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,375/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$681
• Tax + insurance: −$222
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$499
• Net cashflow: $973/mo
• Annual: $11,681/yr
• Cap rate: 15.29%
• Cash-on-cash: 32.12%
• DSCR: 2.43
• 1% rule: 1.83%
• Cash to close: $36,372

Investor read

• This is a 2 × 3-bed/1.0-bath units multifamily listed at $130k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $973 ($12k/yr) — positive. Per door: $487/mo.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $130k).
• Only 1 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• In year one you build about $504 of equity ($898 loan paydown + $-394 appreciation (-0.3% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 64/100 on livability (#371 in IN) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: commute A+, cost of living A+, housing A; Watch: health & safety D+, schools F, crime F.
• School City Of East Chicago (suburban): math 7% / reading 15% proficiency, ranked #293 of 301 in IN (top 97%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover; 89% free/reduced lunch — lower-income household profile, screen leases tightly.
• Watch-outs: built in 1918 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+8.1%/yr); 79 active listings in the ZIP; lower-income renter base — watch delinquency; 1,642 units permitted in Lake County in 2024 (14 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Lake County population projected to shrink 7% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• At projected returns (-0.3% appreciation + 8.0% rent growth), your $36k cash investment doubles in ~3 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Climate carrying-cost: major flood risk — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 15.3% vs local median 8.2% in East Chicago — 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 $2,375/mo this rent would consume 68% of the median local household income ($42k/yr) (locally 1227% of renters already pay >50% of income on rent) — very limited rent-growth headroom before tenants either downsize or default.

Questions for listing agent

• 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 1918 — 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 F-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
• Crime grade is F in this area — have there been break-ins, vandalism, or insurance claims at this property in the last 3 years? What carrier currently insures it and at what premium?
• 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.