1212 Clark St

Janesville, WI 53545

$175,000C+

5 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,494 sqft · Built 1957 · SingleFamily · Pending · 9 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,910/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$918
• Tax + insurance: −$376
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$401
• Net cashflow: $215/mo
• Annual: $2,581/yr
• Cap rate: 7.77%
• Cash-on-cash: 5.27%
• DSCR: 1.23
• 1% rule: 1.09%
• Cash to close: $49,000

Investor read

• This is a 5-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $175k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $215 ($3k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $175k).
• Only 9 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• 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 78/100 on livability (#101 in WI, #2,663 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: amenities D, commute F.
• Janesville School District (urban): math 31% / reading 35% proficiency, ranked #254 of 342 in WI (top 74%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Roosevelt Elementary (math 62% / reading 52%, grade C+, #127 of 1,041 statewide, top 14%, 354 students, 56% FRL); Craig High (math 22% / reading 31%, grade F, #280 of 483 statewide, top 58%, 1,522 students, 37% FRL) — zoned schools at 46% FRL track the district average.
• Watch-outs: built in 1957 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+14.4%/yr); 69 active listings in the ZIP; 629 units permitted in Rock County in 2024 (263 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Rock County population projected to shrink 7% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• Current owner paid $145k; 21% above their basis — modest negotiation headroom, anchor on the comps not their cost.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 8.0% rent growth), your $49k cash investment doubles in ~9 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 7.8% vs local median 2.7% in Janesville — 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 31% of the median local income ($74k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

Questions for listing agent

• Built in 1957 — 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.
• 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.