35615 South St #4

Lewes, DE 19971

$420,000F

3 bd · 3.0 ba · 728 sqft · Built 2001 · Townhouse · Active · 51 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,499/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$2,203
• Tax + insurance: −$700
• HOA: −$250
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$525
• Net cashflow: $-1,178/mo
• Annual: $-14,138/yr
• Cap rate: 2.93%
• Cash-on-cash: -12.02%
• DSCR: 0.47
• 1% rule: 0.60%
• Cash to close: $117,600

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/3.0-bath townhouse listed at $420k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-1k ($-14k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $250k (40.6% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $250k (40.5% below list).
• It's been on market 51 days — a 3% lower offer ($407k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $250k (40.6% below list) — sets the bar for cash-flow.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $3k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $13k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 67/100 on livability (#40 in DE) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, employment A+, health & safety A+; Watch: commute F, cost of living F.
• Cape Henlopen School District (town): math 42% / reading 55% proficiency, ranked #5 of 26 in DE (top 19%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Rehoboth Elementary School (math 51% / reading 60%, grade C, #8 of 105 statewide, top 8%, 525 students, 0% FRL); Beacon Middle School (math 49% / reading 62%, grade B-, #1 of 36 statewide, top 0%, 648 students, 0% FRL); Cape Henlopen High School (math 26% / reading 51%, grade F, #14 of 40 statewide, top 33%, 1,813 students, 0% FRL) — zoned schools average 0% FRL vs 41% district-wide (41 pts lower); this property's tenant base skews higher-income than the district average.
• Market conditions: 334 active listings in the ZIP; 1 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; solid renter incomes; 4,354 units permitted in Sussex County in 2024 (344 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Sussex County population projected at +25% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• Climate carrying-cost: major flood risk; severe wind risk, 80% chance of damaging wind over 30y; extreme-heat days projected 7→18/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 2.9% vs local median 1.7% in Lewes — 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

• 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 51 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 41% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• What does the HOA fee cover, when was the last increase, and are there any pending special assessments or reserve-fund shortfalls?
• 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.