503 E South St

Beaver Dam, WI 53916

$115,000B+

4 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,528 sqft · Built 1908 · SingleFamily · Pending · 6 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,748/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$603
• Tax + insurance: −$306
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$367
• Net cashflow: $472/mo
• Annual: $5,659/yr
• Cap rate: 11.21%
• Cash-on-cash: 17.57%
• DSCR: 1.78
• 1% rule: 1.52%
• Cash to close: $32,200

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $115k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $472 ($6k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $115k).
• Only 6 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $795 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $3k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 72/100 on livability (#235 in WI) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, crime A; Watch: amenities F, commute F, health & safety F.
• Beaver Dam Unified School District (town): math 36% / reading 32% proficiency, ranked #238 of 342 in WI (top 70%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Jefferson Elementary (math 37% / reading 32%, grade F, #610 of 1,041 statewide, top 63%, 333 students, 62% FRL); Beaver Dam High (math 23% / reading 26%, grade F, #287 of 483 statewide, top 71%, 1,112 students, 43% FRL).
• Watch-outs: property tax is 2.7% of price; built in 1908 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 83 active listings in the ZIP; 229 units permitted in Dodge County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Dodge County population projected to shrink 9% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $32k cash investment doubles in ~7 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 11.2% vs local median 3.0% in Beaver Dam — 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

• Built in 1908 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• Property tax is high relative to price — has the assessment been appealed recently, and will the sale trigger a re-assessment?
• 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?
• 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.