224 Linden Ct

Brooklyn, IA 52211

$175,000F

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,032 sqft · Built 1959 · SingleFamily · Pending

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,056/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$918
• Tax + insurance: −$250
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$222
• Net cashflow: $-333/mo
• Annual: $-3,999/yr
• Cap rate: 4.01%
• Cash-on-cash: -8.16%
• DSCR: 0.64
• 1% rule: 0.60%
• Cash to close: $49,000

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $175k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-333 ($-4k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $116k (33.6% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $106k (39.7% below list).
• Only 0 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $106k (39.7% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $16k of equity ($1k loan paydown + $15k appreciation (8.6% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 66/100 on livability (#509 in IA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: employment D+, amenities F, commute F.
• Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Community School District (rural): math 72% / reading 74% proficiency, ranked #101 of 289 in IA (top 35%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical.
• Zoned schools: Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Elementary School (math 82% / reading 82%, grade A+, #44 of 616 statewide, top 9%, 296 students, 34% FRL); Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Jr-Sr High School (math 64% / reading 68%, grade B, #200 of 336 statewide, top 60%, 265 students, 35% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1959 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 58 active listings in the ZIP; 27 units permitted in Poweshiek County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Poweshiek County population projected to shrink 3% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• 4 sale attempts since 9y ago 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 $149k; 17% above their basis — modest negotiation headroom, anchor on the comps not their cost.
• By year 3, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$41k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.

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 1959 — 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 A-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.