199 17th St

West Babylon, NY 11704

$499,999D

4 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,230 sqft · Built 1949 · SingleFamily · Active · 40 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $3,853/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$2,622
• Tax + insurance: −$938
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$809
• Net cashflow: $-516/mo
• Annual: $-6,190/yr
• Cap rate: 5.06%
• Cash-on-cash: -4.42%
• DSCR: 0.80
• 1% rule: 0.77%
• Cash to close: $140,000

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $500k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-516 ($-6k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $409k (18.2% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $385k (22.9% below list).
• It's been on market 40 days — a 3% lower offer ($485k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $385k (22.9% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $3k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $15k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 72/100 on livability (#368 in NY) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: commute A+, employment A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F, cost of living F, health & safety D-.
• West Babylon Union Free School District (suburban): math 64% / reading 69% proficiency, ranked #148 of 590 in NY (top 25%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Zoned schools: West Babylon Junior High School (math 38% / reading 48%, grade D-, #370 of 729 statewide, top 51%, 804 students, 36% FRL); West Babylon Senior High School (math 92% / reading 94%, grade A+, #147 of 1,100 statewide, top 14%, 1,247 students, 39% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1949 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 148 active listings in the ZIP; 4 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals leasing fast (median 3d on market — plan ~1-2 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); high-income renter base; 1,366 units permitted in Suffolk County in 2024 (216 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Suffolk County population projected to shrink 5% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• Current owner paid $114k; list at $500k implies a 339% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Climate carrying-cost: major wind risk, 64% chance of damaging wind over 30y; extreme-heat days projected 7→16/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 5.1% vs local median 2.9% in West Babylon — 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.
• This rent runs 36% of the median local income ($129k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

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?
• It's been on market 40 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 23% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1949 — 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.
• 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.