129 N Spruce St

Dodge, NE 68633

$124,900D+

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 798 sqft · Built 1918 · SingleFamily · Active · 270 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $902/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$655
• Tax + insurance: −$105
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$189
• Net cashflow: $-48/mo
• Annual: $-576/yr
• Cap rate: 5.83%
• Cash-on-cash: -1.65%
• DSCR: 0.93
• 1% rule: 0.72%
• Cash to close: $34,972

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $125k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-48 ($-576/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $116k (6.8% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $90k (27.8% below list).
• It's been on market 270 days — a 12% lower offer ($110k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $90k (27.8% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $13k of equity ($864 loan paydown + $12k appreciation (10.0% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 74/100 on livability (#131 in NE, #4,913 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: employment C-, amenities F, commute F.
• Howells-Dodge Consolidated Schools (rural): math 75% / reading 70% proficiency, ranked #11 of 245 in NE (top 4%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical.
• Watch-outs: built in 1918 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 2 active listings in the ZIP; 82 units permitted in Dodge County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Current owner paid $26k; list at $125k implies a 380% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (10.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $35k cash investment doubles in ~3 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• By year 3, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$34k 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 270 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 28% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1918 — 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 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.