179 Caroline St

Elyria, OH 44035

$179,000D+

3 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,862 sqft · Built 1960 · SingleFamily · Pending · 3 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,410/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$939
• Tax + insurance: −$217
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$296
• Net cashflow: $-41/mo
• Annual: $-496/yr
• Cap rate: 6.02%
• Cash-on-cash: -0.99%
• DSCR: 0.96
• 1% rule: 0.79%
• Cash to close: $50,120

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $179k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-41 ($-496/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $172k (4.1% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $141k (21.2% below list).
• Only 3 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $141k (21.2% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $1k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $5k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 75/100 on livability (#243 in OH, #3,869 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A; Watch: employment D, commute F.
• Elyria City Schools (urban): math 21% / reading 37% proficiency, ranked #586 of 656 in OH (top 89%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Zoned schools: Ely Elementary School (math 12% / reading 27%, grade F, #1,293 of 1,584 statewide, top 83%, 453 students, 70% FRL); Northwood Middle School (math 22% / reading 42%, grade F, #559 of 654 statewide, top 87%, 564 students, 94% FRL); Elyria High School (math 20% / reading 47%, grade F, #598 of 781 statewide, top 77%, 1,639 students, 62% FRL) — zoned schools average 75% FRL vs 58% district-wide (17 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+6.7%/yr); 359 active listings in the ZIP; 1 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 1,098 units permitted in Lorain County in 2024 (20 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 2 sale attempts since 17y 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.
• Current owner paid $100k; list at $179k implies a 79% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 6.0% vs local median 4.0% in Elyria — 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 30% of the median local income ($56k/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?
• Built in 1960 — 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.
• 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.