27 Union St

Oberlin, OH 44074

$247,400D-

3 bd · 2.5 ba · 1,778 sqft · Built 1991 · SingleFamily · Active · 106 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,848/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,297
• Tax + insurance: −$333
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$388
• Net cashflow: $-170/mo
• Annual: $-2,044/yr
• Cap rate: 5.47%
• Cash-on-cash: -2.95%
• DSCR: 0.87
• 1% rule: 0.75%
• Cash to close: $69,272

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/2.5-bath single-family listed at $247k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-170 ($-2k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $217k (12.2% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $185k (25.3% below list).
• It's been on market 106 days — a 9% lower offer ($225k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $185k (25.3% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $2k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $7k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 83/100 on livability (#62 in OH, #923 nationally) — a professional / high-income tenant draw. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, amenities A; Watch: employment D+, commute F.
• Oberlin City Schools (town): math 41% / reading 56% proficiency, ranked #447 of 656 in OH (top 68%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Market conditions: 38 active listings in the ZIP; 1,098 units permitted in Lorain County in 2024 (20 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 4 sale attempts since 9y 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 $126k; list at $247k implies a 96% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 5.5% vs local median 4.0% in Oberlin — 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 ($74k/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?
• It's been on market 106 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 25% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• 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 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.