5 Woolf Ave Unit & 15

Iowa City, IA 52240

$1,875,000C-

None bd · 4.0 ba · 12,168 sqft · Built 1958 · MultiFamily · Active · 181 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $20,323/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$9,833
• Tax + insurance: −$3,125
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$4,268
• Net cashflow: $3,097/mo
• Annual: $37,170/yr
• Cap rate: 8.28%
• Cash-on-cash: 7.08%
• DSCR: 1.32
• 1% rule: 1.08%
• Cash to close: $525,000

Investor read

• This is a ?-bed/4.0-bath multifamily listed at $1.88M. Condition is rated fair.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $3k ($37k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($20k rent vs $1.88M).
• It's been on market 181 days — a 12% lower offer ($1.65M) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $1.65M (12.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $13k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $56k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 86/100 on livability (#13 in IA, #450 nationally) — a professional / high-income tenant draw. Strengths: amenities A+, commute A+, cost of living A+.
• Iowa City Community School District (urban): math 65% / reading 70% proficiency, ranked #174 of 289 in IA (top 60%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Watch-outs: built in 1958 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+6.3%/yr); 260 active listings in the ZIP; 714 units permitted in Johnson County in 2024 (158 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Johnson County population projected at +60% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 2 sale attempts 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.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 6.3% rent growth), your $525k cash investment doubles in ~10 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 8.3% vs local median 2.7% in Iowa City — 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 $20,323/mo this rent would consume 460% of the median local household income ($53k/yr) (locally 2852% of renters already pay >50% of income on rent) — very limited rent-growth headroom before tenants either downsize or default.

Questions for listing agent

• It's been on market 181 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 12% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Have any recent inspections been done? Can we get a copy of the seller's disclosures and any deferred-maintenance estimates?
• Built in 1958 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• 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?
• 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.

Repairs flagged (vision-AI assessment)

• Moderate: Exterior paint — Paint appears faded and needs touch-up
• Moderate: Landscaping — Sparse landscaping could benefit from improvement