534 Hill Bluff Rd

Guntersville, AL 35976

$199,900D

3 bd · 3.0 ba · 1,272 sqft · Built 1996 · SingleFamily · Pending · 8 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,611/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,048
• Tax + insurance: −$130
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$338
• Net cashflow: $95/mo
• Annual: $1,140/yr
• Cap rate: 6.86%
• Cash-on-cash: 2.04%
• DSCR: 1.09
• 1% rule: 0.81%
• Cash to close: $55,972

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/3.0-bath single-family listed at $200k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $95 ($1k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $161k (19.4% below list).
• Only 8 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $161k (19.4% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $1k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $6k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 59/100 on livability (#323 in AL) — a working-class tenant base; expect higher turnover. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: crime C-, employment C-, amenities F.
• Marshall County (rural): math 14% / reading 38% proficiency, ranked #86 of 129 in AL (top 67%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover; 63% free/reduced lunch — lower-income household profile, screen leases tightly.
• Zoned schools: Brindlee Mountain Elementary School (math 25% / reading 41%, grade F, #323 of 627 statewide, top 52%, 236 students, 46% FRL); Brindlee Mountain High School (math 7% / reading 27%, grade F, #195 of 305 statewide, top 68%, 553 students, 51% FRL).
• Market conditions: 469 active listings in the ZIP; 163 units permitted in Marshall County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 2 sale attempts since 10y 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 $132k; list at $200k implies a 51% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Climate carrying-cost: moderate wildfire risk; extreme-heat days projected 7→20/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 6.9% vs local median 2.1% in Guntersville — 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

• Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
• Schools are D-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
• 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.