309 Iowa St · Archer, IA 51231

$109,000

2 bd · 1.5 ba · 946 sqft · SingleFamily public records · 42 Days on market

Built 1904 0.28 ac lot Est $99k · 10% over

---

Why this score? — see what drove the D+ grade

The composite is a weighted blend of 9 inputs, each scored 0–100. Each bar is that input's sub-score; the figure is the points it added to the 100-point composite (weight × sub-score).

• Cash flow +14.2/30.0
• Appreciation +8.9/10.0
• Schools +6.4/10.0
• DSCR +4.3/10.0
• 1% rule +3.1/10.0
• ARV discount +3.1/15.0
• Livability +3.1/5.0
• Rent growth +2.5/5.0
• Condition / age +2.5/5.0

Listing remarks

Looking to stop renting and start owning? Looking for an investment property? This ranch style home offers 2 bedrooms, a 3/4 bathroom, eat-in kitchen, laundry room and a nice sized living room on the main floor with additional space for storage in the basement. Outside you will find a 2 stall detached garage which is insulated and contains a finished bonus room. There is also a 12'x20' garden shed for all your storage needs. The large yard and raised garden beds finish off the outdoor space. Affordable, comfortable, and ready for its next chapter!

Key facts

• Finished bonus room
• Laundry room
• Ranch style home

Tags

• RANCH STYLE HOME
• EAT-IN KITCHEN
• LAUNDRY ROOM
• DETACHED GARAGE
• FINISHED BONUS ROOM
• GARDEN SHED

What this means for you Summary

Snapshot

• This is a 2-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $109k.

Deal economics

• At list price, monthly cash flow is $17 ($206/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 $88k (19.3% below list).
• Recommended offer: $88k (19.3% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.

Location & tenants

• Location reads 61/100 on livability (#792 in IA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing B; Watch: employment D+, health & safety D, amenities F.
• Sheldon Community School District (town): math 74% / reading 78% proficiency, ranked #63 of 289 in IA (top 22%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical.
• Zoned schools: Sheldon Middle School (math 70% / reading 78%, grade A, #83 of 246 statewide, top 34%, 320 students, 47% FRL); Sheldon High School (math 73% / reading 81%, grade A-, #60 of 336 statewide, top 21%, 342 students, 39% FRL).
• Market conditions: 4 active listings in the ZIP; 13 units permitted in O'Brien County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).

Forward outlook

• In year one you build about $9k of equity ($754 loan paydown + $8k appreciation (7.7% local appreciation)).
• O'Brien County population projected at -11% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• At projected returns (7.7% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $31k cash investment doubles in ~3 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• By year 4, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$32k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.

Negotiation context

• It's been on market 42 days — a 3% lower offer ($106k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• 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.
• Current owner paid $72k; list at $109k implies a 50% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.

Risks & watch-outs

• Watch-outs: built in 1904 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.

Recommended offer $87,980 (19.3% below list)

Questions for the listing agent

1. It's been on market 42 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 19% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
2. Built in 1904 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
3. Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
4. Schools are D-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
5. 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?
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.

Investment metrics

• 1% rule: 0.81% ✗
• Cap rate: 6.48%
• Cash-on-cash: 0.68%
• DSCR: 1.03
• GRM: 10.3

CMA / ARV

• ARV (on-the-fly): $99,330
• Comps found: 2

Show comp detail 2 sales within ~0.75 mi

Address	Dist	Beds/Ba	Sqft	Sold	Price	$/sf	Match
309 Iowa St	0.00mi	2/1.0	946 (0%)	0mo	$99,000	$105	98
404 Fletcher Ave	0.16mi	3/1.0 (+1)	1,085 (+15%)	8mo	$112,500	$104	54

Match score weights: distance 35% · size 25% · config 20% · recency 20%. Top-matched comps best support the ARV.

Projected returns pro-forma

7.73% appreciation · 3.0% rent growth · sell at horizon

5-year hold

• IRR: 19.9%
• Equity multiple: 2.45×
• Total profit: $44,117
• Equity at exit: $80,846

10-year hold

• IRR: 18.6%
• Equity multiple: 5.16×
• Total profit: $127,082
• Equity at exit: $158,640

Cash invested: $30,520 (down + closing). Projections, not guarantees.

Landlord ↔ Tenant lean methodology

• Overall (STATE): 83 Strongly Landlord-Friendly
• State Iowa: 83 Strongly Landlord-Friendly · R+6
• County: — inherits STATE
• City: — inherits STATE

3-day pay-or-quit; mostly landlord-friendly statewide.

Methodology + full state rankings →

ZIP-level market 51231

• Home prices YoY: 4.9%
• Active inventory: 4
• Price-to-rent: 10.3×

Monthly cashflow live

• Estimated rent: $880 medium
• Mortgage (P&I): −$572
• Tax from tax record: −$61 /mo · $730/yr
• Insurance: −$45
• HOA: −$0
• Vacancy / Maint / Mgmt: −$185
• Net cashflow: $17

Break-even live

Break-even rent $858

Max offer price $109,000

Occupancy floor 93%

UW: 25.0% down · 7.5% · 30yr · 1.5% tax · 5.0% vac · 8.0% maint · 8.0% mgmt

Financing live

Cash to close

• Down payment: $27,250
• Closing costs: $3,270
• Reserves months: —
• Total cash needed: —

Listing history 5 events

1. 2026-04-27
   status Pending
2. 2026-04-07
   status Active
3. 2026-03-24
   status Pending
4. 2026-03-02
   listed $109,000 Active
5. 2020-12-21
   soldstatus $72,500

ⓘ Source: listings_history table (triggers on properties + properties_extension) + one-shot backfill from property_details.listing_events for pre-trigger history.

Tax reassessment forecast IA · Partial reset (capped growth)

• Current annual tax: $730 · $61/mo
• Projected year-2 tax: $1,221 · $102/mo
• Expected delta: +$491/yr (+$41/mo · 67.2%)

ⓘ Screening estimate from a state-policy table — verify with the county assessor before closing.

Climate risk First Street

• 🌊 Flood 1/10 Low FEMA zone X (unshaded) · 0% chance over 30 yrs
• 🔥 Wildfire 1/10 Low
• 🌡 Heat 3/10 Moderate 7 d/yr ≥101°F today · 15 d/yr by 30 yrs out
• 💨 Wind 2/10 Low
• 🫁 Air quality 1/10 Low 0 unhealthy d/yr today · 0 by 30 yrs out

Taxation est. · year 1

• Rental income: $10,558
• − Mortgage interest: −$6,106
• − Property taxes: −$730
• − Insurance: −$545
• − Repairs & maintenance: −$845
• − Management: −$845
• − Depreciation: −$3,171
• Taxable loss: −$1,683
• Est. tax savings @ 24.0%: +$404
• After-tax cash flow: $610/yr

For passive investors: Depreciation is non-cash, so a rental often shows a tax loss while cash-flowing — sheltering income. Rental losses are passive: they offset passive income freely, and up to $25,000/yr can offset ordinary (W-2) income if you actively participate and your MAGI is under $100k (phasing out to $0 by $150k); unused losses carry forward. On sale, claimed depreciation is recaptured at up to 25%, and gains may owe capital-gains tax (a 1031 exchange can defer both). Figures are a year-1 estimate at your 24.0% rate — not tax advice; consult a CPA.

Schools (NCES district)

• District: Sheldon Community School District
• NCES district ID: 1925980
• Math proficiency: 74% ▼ -4.00%
• Reading proficiency: 78% ▬ 0.00%
• Median HH income: $50,644
• Composite: 64.39/100
• National rank: #545
• State rank: #63 of 289 in IA

Livability — Archer

• Score: 61/100
• State rank: #792
• US rank: #17924

Category grades

Amenities F Commute F Cost of living A+ Crime C Employment D+ Housing B Health & safety D User ratings A

Schools grade is shown separately in the Schools card above.

Census & demographics

• Census place: Archer, IA
• Population (ZIP): 543

Population outlook (O'Brien County) Hauer SSP2

• Today (2025): 13,353 people
• By 2030: 13,040 · -2.3%
• By 2040: 12,422 · -7.0%
• By 2050: 11,887 · -11.0%
• By 2075: 11,132 · -16.6%
• By 2100: 10,176 · -23.8%

Race, ethnicity, and origin ACS 2023

• Neighborhood character: Predominantly White (100%)
• Race & ethnicity: White 100%
• Common ancestry: Iranian 8% Portuguese 1%
• Foreign-born: 0%
• Languages at home: 98% English-only · Spanish 2%

Political lean MEDSL · O'Brien

• 2024 margin: Solid R (+60.9) · D 19.0% · R 80.0% · Other 1.0%
• 2008→2024 swing: -26.1pp toward R · 2008: -34.9pp · 2024: -60.9pp
• All cycles: 2024: R+60.9 2020: R+56.8 2016: R+60.2 2012: R+45.2 2008: R+34.9

Not yet ingested

• Civics: —

Market trends

• HPI YoY: ▲ 7.73%
• Current HPI: 165.2763
• Rent YoY: —
• Metro: —
• State GDP YoY: ▲ 2.48%
• F500 in state: 4

Industry mix (Fortune 500 HQ in IA)

Industry	F500 HQs	Revenue
▸Financial Services	1	$16B
▸Retail / Convenience	1	$15B

Price history

+50.3% since first listed

5 events — show timeline

• 2026-04-27 Pending — NWIA
• 2026-04-07 Relisted — NWIA
• 2026-03-24 Pending — NWIA
• 2026-03-02 Listed $109,000 NWIA
• 2020-12-21 Sold (Public Records) $72,500 Public Records

Property tax history

+17.7%/yr

Latest (2025): $730 · +5.2% YoY. Source: county tax records.