20 N Illinois Ave

Wellston, OH 45692

$119,900D+

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,200 sqft · Built 1950 · SingleFamily · Pending · 10 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $891/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$629
• Tax + insurance: −$110
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$187
• Net cashflow: $-35/mo
• Annual: $-417/yr
• Cap rate: 5.94%
• Cash-on-cash: -1.24%
• DSCR: 0.94
• 1% rule: 0.74%
• Cash to close: $33,572

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $120k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-35 ($-417/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $114k (5.1% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $89k (25.7% below list).
• Only 10 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $89k (25.7% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $829 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $4k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 67/100 on livability (#606 in OH) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, crime B; Watch: health & safety C-, employment D, amenities F.
• Wellston City (rural): math 38% / reading 47% proficiency, ranked #532 of 656 in OH (top 81%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Watch-outs: built in 1950 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 50 active listings in the ZIP; 32 units permitted in Jackson County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Jackson County population projected at -22% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• Cap rate 5.9% vs local median 3.2% in Wellston — 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 1950 — 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.
• 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.