5314 Wendy Rd

Eldersburg, MD 21784

$150,000B-

3 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,260 sqft · Built 1969 · SingleFamily · Pending · 21 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,403/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$787
• Tax + insurance: −$384
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$505
• Net cashflow: $727/mo
• Annual: $8,730/yr
• Cap rate: 12.11%
• Cash-on-cash: 20.78%
• DSCR: 1.92
• 1% rule: 1.60%
• Cash to close: $42,000

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $150k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $727 ($9k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $150k).
• It's been on market 21 days — a 2% lower offer ($148k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $148k (1.5% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $1k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $4k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 75/100 on livability (#103 in MD, #3,957 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: employment A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: commute F, cost of living F.
• Carroll County Public Schools (suburban): math 32% / reading 47% proficiency, ranked #2 of 24 in MD (top 8%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases; only 16% free/reduced lunch — higher-income household profile.
• Zoned schools: Freedom District Elementary (math 49% / reading 48%, grade D, #46 of 860 statewide, top 5%, 617 students, 9% FRL); Oklahoma Road Middle (math 25% / reading 55%, grade F, #27 of 225 statewide, top 12%, 742 students, 13% FRL); Liberty High (math 69% / reading 83%, grade A-, #24 of 222 statewide, top 10%, 991 students, 11% FRL) — zoned schools at 11% FRL track the district average.
• Zoned-school proficiency averages 55% at this address vs 40% district-wide (+15 pts) — the actual schools serving this property are materially stronger than the Carroll County Public Schools average implies; a family-tenant draw the district grade alone would hide.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 2.6% of price.
• Market conditions: 212 active listings in the ZIP; 1 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; high-income renter base; 156 units permitted in Carroll County in 2024 (12 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Carroll County population projected to shrink 7% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $42k cash investment doubles in ~6 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Climate carrying-cost: extreme-heat days projected 7→15/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 12.1% vs local median 2.2% in Eldersburg — 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 1969 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• Property tax is high relative to price — has the assessment been appealed recently, and will the sale trigger a re-assessment?
• 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?
• 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.