253 Lexington St

Woburn, MA 01801

$1,099,000F

6 bd · 3.0 ba · 1,522 sqft · Built 1960 · MultiFamily · Active · 14 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $7,580/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$5,763
• Tax + insurance: −$1,055
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$1,592
• Net cashflow: $-830/mo
• Annual: $-9,965/yr
• Cap rate: 5.39%
• Cash-on-cash: -3.24%
• DSCR: 0.86
• 1% rule: 0.69%
• Cash to close: $307,720

Investor read

• This is a 3 × 2-bed/1.0-bath units multifamily listed at $1.10M.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-830 ($-10k/yr) — negative. Per door: $-277/mo.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $952k (13.3% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $758k (31.0% below list).
• Only 14 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $758k (31.0% 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 $33k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 79/100 on livability (#42 in MA, #1,982 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: commute A+, employment A+, health & safety A+; Watch: amenities D+, cost of living F.
• Woburn (suburban): math 35% / reading 49% proficiency, ranked #177 of 302 in MA (top 59%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Woburn High (math 48% / reading 67%, grade C, #145 of 343 statewide, top 42%, 1,178 students, 0% FRL) — zoned schools average 0% FRL vs 22% district-wide (22 pts lower); this property's tenant base skews higher-income than the district average.
• Zoned-school proficiency averages 58% at this address vs 42% district-wide (+16 pts) — the actual schools serving this property are materially stronger than the Woburn average implies; a family-tenant draw the district grade alone would hide.
• Market conditions: Rents falling (-3.6%/yr); 49 active listings in the ZIP; high-income renter base; 3,670 units permitted in Middlesex County in 2024 (2,611 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Middlesex County population projected at +20% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 3 sale attempts since 22y 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 $360k; list at $1.10M implies a 205% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Climate carrying-cost: major wind risk, 50% chance of damaging wind over 30y; extreme-heat days projected 7→15/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 5.4% vs local median 3.1% in Woburn — 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 $7,580/mo this rent would consume 82% of the median local household income ($111k/yr) (locally 1723% 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?
• 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 1960 — 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.