351 N Line St

Columbia City, IN 46725

$34,000D

3 bd · 1.5 ba · 2,020 sqft · Built 1910 · SingleFamily · Pending

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,632/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$178
• Tax + insurance: −$132
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$343
• Net cashflow: $978/mo
• Annual: $11,737/yr
• Cap rate: 40.81%
• Cash-on-cash: 123.29%
• DSCR: 6.49
• 1% rule: 4.80%
• Cash to close: $9,520

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $34k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $978 ($12k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $34k).
• Only 0 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $235 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $1k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 74/100 on livability (#73 in IN, #4,647 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: employment D+, amenities D, commute F.
• Whitley County Consolidated Schools (rural): math 36% / reading 43% proficiency, ranked #140 of 301 in IN (top 46%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Little Turtle Elementary School (math 39% / reading 31%, grade F, #590 of 994 statewide, top 60%, 604 students, 39% FRL); Indian Springs Middle School (math 28% / reading 40%, grade F, #173 of 330 statewide, top 53%, 834 students, 33% FRL); Columbia City High School (math 36% / reading 69%, grade C-, #102 of 369 statewide, top 28%, 1,147 students, 27% FRL).
• Watch-outs: property tax is 4.2% of price; built in 1910 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 112 active listings in the ZIP; 2 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 98 units permitted in Whitley County in 2024 (22 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Whitley County population projected at -10% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 6 sale attempts since 6y 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.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $10k cash investment doubles in ~1 year — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 40.8% vs local median 3.7% in Columbia City — 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 1910 — 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 D-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
• 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.
• 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.