4400 Melrose Drive Lot 294 Dr

Wooster, OH 44691

$16,500D+

3 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,912 sqft · Built 1992 · Manufactured · Active · 91 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,598/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$87
• Tax + insurance: −$28
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$336
• Net cashflow: $1,148/mo
• Annual: $13,780/yr
• Cap rate: 89.81%
• Cash-on-cash: 298.26%
• DSCR: 14.27
• 1% rule: 9.68%
• Cash to close: $4,620

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/2.0-bath manufactured listed at $16k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $1k ($14k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $16k).
• It's been on market 91 days — a 9% lower offer ($15k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $15k (9.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $114 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $495 of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 77/100 on livability (#195 in OH, #3,001 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: employment D+, amenities D-, commute F.
• Wooster City (town): math 47% / reading 57% proficiency, ranked #422 of 656 in OH (top 64%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+8.4%/yr); 154 active listings in the ZIP; 284 units permitted in Wayne County in 2024 (42 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Wayne County population projected to shrink 6% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• 23 sale attempts since 22y ago; this cycle's ask is 85% above the opening price — seller raised mid-cycle; expect resistance to lowballs.
• Current owner paid $8k; list at $16k implies a 106% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 8.0% rent growth), your $5k cash investment doubles in ~1 year — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 89.8% vs local median 3.2% in Wooster — 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 91 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 9% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• 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 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.
• 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.