204 E Wood St

Yale, MI 48097

$180,000D-

4 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,200 sqft · Built 1935 · SingleFamily · Pending · 7 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,518/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$944
• Tax + insurance: −$188
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$319
• Net cashflow: $67/mo
• Annual: $810/yr
• Cap rate: 6.74%
• Cash-on-cash: 1.61%
• DSCR: 1.07
• 1% rule: 0.84%
• Cash to close: $50,400

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $180k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $67 ($810/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 $152k (15.7% below list).
• Only 7 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $152k (15.7% 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 66/100 on livability (#432 in MI) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F, employment F.
• Yale Public Schools (rural): math 40% / reading 62% proficiency, ranked #92 of 540 in MI (top 17%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Zoned schools: Yale Elementary School (math 47% / reading 57%, grade C-, #328 of 1,397 statewide, top 26%, 341 students, 62% FRL); Yale Junior High School (math 36% / reading 65%, grade C, #110 of 493 statewide, top 23%, 381 students, 48% FRL); Yale Senior High School (math 32% / reading 62%, grade D-, #187 of 713 statewide, top 29%, 551 students, 38% FRL) — zoned schools average 49% FRL vs 33% district-wide (16 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Watch-outs: built in 1935 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 48 active listings in the ZIP; 232 units permitted in St. Clair County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• St. Clair County population projected at -20% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 7 sale attempts since 20y ago; this cycle's ask is 201% above the opening price — seller raised mid-cycle; expect resistance to lowballs.
• Current owner paid $60k; list at $180k implies a 201% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 6.7% vs local median 3.5% in Yale — 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

• Built in 1935 — 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 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.