724 N Center Ave

Hardin, MT 59034

$154,000D

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,338 sqft · Built 1900 · SingleFamily · Active · 273 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,274/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$808
• Tax + insurance: −$123
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$268
• Net cashflow: $76/mo
• Annual: $906/yr
• Cap rate: 6.88%
• Cash-on-cash: 2.10%
• DSCR: 1.09
• 1% rule: 0.83%
• Cash to close: $43,120

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $154k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $76 ($906/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 $127k (17.3% below list).
• It's been on market 273 days — a 12% lower offer ($136k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $127k (17.3% 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 $5k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 72/100 on livability (#59 in MT) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: employment D, amenities F, commute F.
• Hardin H S (town): math 10% / reading 15% proficiency, ranked #276 of 339 in MT (top 81%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Zoned schools: Hardin Primary (329 students, 0% FRL); Hardin Middle School (math 4% / reading 16%, grade F, #134 of 146 statewide, top 94%, 404 students, 0% FRL); Hardin High School (math 2% / reading 8%, grade F, #129 of 132 statewide, top 100%, 512 students, 0% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 30 active listings in the ZIP.
• Big Horn County population projected at +10% by 2050 — modest demand growth; plan on rents tracking national, not racing it.
• Climate carrying-cost: major wildfire risk — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 6.9% vs local median 3.6% in Hardin — 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

• It's been on market 273 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 17% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1900 — 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 F-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.