8942 Elm St

Brecksville, OH 44141

$390,000D

4 bd · 2.0 ba · 2,360 sqft · Built 1868 · SingleFamily · Pending · 4 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $3,233/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$2,045
• Tax + insurance: −$783
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$679
• Net cashflow: $-274/mo
• Annual: $-3,293/yr
• Cap rate: 5.45%
• Cash-on-cash: -3.02%
• DSCR: 0.87
• 1% rule: 0.83%
• Cash to close: $109,200

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $390k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-274 ($-3k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $342k (12.4% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $323k (17.1% below list).
• Only 4 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $323k (17.1% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• 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 77/100 on livability (#183 in OH, #2,852 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, employment A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F, health & safety F.
• Brecksville-Broadview Heights City (suburban): math 85% / reading 85% proficiency, ranked #23 of 656 in OH (top 4%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical; only 10% free/reduced lunch — higher-income household profile.
• Zoned schools: Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School (math 86% / reading 86%, grade A+, #13 of 654 statewide, top 2%, 796 students, 10% FRL); Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School (math 76% / reading 83%, grade A-, #35 of 781 statewide, top 6%, 1,232 students, 10% FRL) — zoned schools at 10% FRL track the district average.
• Watch-outs: built in 1868 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 98 active listings in the ZIP; 2 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; high-income renter base; 1,441 units permitted in Cuyahoga County in 2024 (700 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Cuyahoga County population projected to shrink 8% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• 10 sale attempts since 25y 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 $172k; list at $390k implies a 127% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 5.4% vs local median 2.8% in Brecksville — 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 ($127k/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 1868 — 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.