4524 Steinbeck St

Ames, IA 50014

$1,200,000D

None bd · None ba · 7,904 sqft · Built 1998 · MultiFamily · Active · 261 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $9,998/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$6,293
• Tax + insurance: −$2,000
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$2,100
• Net cashflow: $-395/mo
• Annual: $-4,734/yr
• Cap rate: 5.90%
• Cash-on-cash: -1.41%
• DSCR: 0.94
• 1% rule: 0.83%
• Cash to close: $336,000

Investor read

• This is a multifamily listed at $1.20M. Condition is rated good.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-395 ($-5k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $1.14M (4.8% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $1000k (16.7% below list).
• It's been on market 261 days — a 12% lower offer ($1.06M) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $1000k (16.7% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $8k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $36k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 93/100 on livability (#2 in IA, #21 nationally) — a professional / high-income tenant draw. Strengths: amenities A+, commute A+, cost of living A+; Watch: employment C-.
• Ames Community School District (urban): math 70% / reading 72% proficiency, ranked #147 of 289 in IA (top 51%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical.
• Zoned schools: Edwards Elementary School (math 72% / reading 67%, grade A-, #224 of 616 statewide, top 42%, 450 students, 38% FRL); Ames Middle School (math 71% / reading 70%, grade A, #111 of 246 statewide, top 45%, 1,002 students, 31% FRL); Ames High School (math 69% / reading 77%, grade B+, #114 of 336 statewide, top 34%, 1,403 students, 30% FRL).
• Market conditions: Rents rising (+3.7%/yr); 199 active listings in the ZIP; 196 units permitted in Story County in 2024 (34 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Story County population projected at +54% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 4 sale attempts since 2y 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.
• Cap rate 5.9% vs local median 2.2% in Ames — 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 $9,998/mo this rent would consume 198% of the median local household income ($61k/yr) (locally 2646% of renters already pay >50% of income on rent) — very limited rent-growth headroom before tenants either downsize or default.

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?
• It's been on market 261 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 17% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Why hasn't it sold? Are there any deal-killer items the seller is aware of (foundation, flood, title, zoning, code violations)?
• 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.