20 Sage St

North Bennington, VT 05257

$209,000D

4 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,127 sqft · Built 1820 · SingleFamily · Active · 66 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,518/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,096
• Tax + insurance: −$204
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$319
• Net cashflow: $-101/mo
• Annual: $-1,214/yr
• Cap rate: 5.71%
• Cash-on-cash: -2.07%
• DSCR: 0.91
• 1% rule: 0.73%
• Cash to close: $58,520

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $209k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-101 ($-1k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $191k (8.5% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $152k (27.4% below list).
• It's been on market 66 days — a 6% lower offer ($196k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $152k (27.4% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $7k of equity ($1k loan paydown + $6k appreciation (2.6% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 64/100 on livability (#65 in VT) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, housing A+; Watch: employment C-, health & safety D, schools D-.
• Watch-outs: built in 1820 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 10 active listings in the ZIP; 59 units permitted in Bennington County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Bennington County population projected at -23% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 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.
• By year 5, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$30k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.

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 66 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 27% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1820 — 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 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?
• 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.