519 Fern St

West Hartford, CT 06107

$399,000D

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,365 sqft · Built 1952 · SingleFamily · Under Contract · 6 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $3,116/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$2,092
• Tax + insurance: −$947
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$654
• Net cashflow: $-578/mo
• Annual: $-6,933/yr
• Cap rate: 4.56%
• Cash-on-cash: -6.21%
• DSCR: 0.72
• 1% rule: 0.78%
• Cash to close: $111,720

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $399k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-578 ($-7k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $297k (25.6% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $312k (21.9% below list).
• Only 6 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $297k (25.6% below list) — sets the bar for cash-flow.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $3k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $12k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 79/100 on livability (#27 in CT, #1,989 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: employment A+, housing A+, crime B+; Watch: amenities F, cost of living F.
• West Hartford School District (urban): math 56% / reading 67% proficiency, ranked #39 of 153 in CT (top 26%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease; only 16% free/reduced lunch — higher-income household profile.
• Zoned schools: Bugbee School (math 77% / reading 82%, grade A, #22 of 553 statewide, top 4%, 371 students, 7% FRL); Hall High School (math 62% / reading 82%, grade B+, #14 of 194 statewide, top 8%, 1,408 students, 20% FRL) — zoned schools at 14% FRL track the district average.
• Zoned-school proficiency averages 76% at this address vs 62% district-wide (+14 pts) — the actual schools serving this property are materially stronger than the West Hartford School District average implies; a family-tenant draw the district grade alone would hide.
• Watch-outs: built in 1952 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 87 active listings in the ZIP; 34 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals lingering (median 44d on market — plan ~5-8 weeks vacancy on turnover, expect pricing pressure); 50% of comp listings sitting > 30 days — soft ceiling on asking rent; high-income renter base; 1,867 units permitted in Capitol Planning Region in 2024 (1,399 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 2 sale attempts since 3y 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.
• Climate carrying-cost: major wind risk, 27% 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 4.6% vs local median 3.3% in West Hartford — 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

• 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?
• Built in 1952 — 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 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?
• 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.