1309 West St

Grinnell, IA 50112

$29,800B

3 bd · 2.5 ba · 2,132 sqft · Built 1900 · SingleFamily · Pending · 10 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,200/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$156
• Tax + insurance: −$50
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$252
• Net cashflow: $742/mo
• Annual: $8,905/yr
• Cap rate: 36.17%
• Cash-on-cash: 106.72%
• DSCR: 5.75
• 1% rule: 4.03%
• Cash to close: $8,344

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/2.5-bath single-family listed at $30k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $742 ($9k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $30k).
• Only 10 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $206 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $894 of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 79/100 on livability (#123 in IA, #2,270 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: schools A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: employment D, amenities F, commute F.
• Grinnell-Newburg Community School District (town): math 76% / reading 79% proficiency, ranked #47 of 289 in IA (top 16%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical.
• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 98 active listings in the ZIP; 1 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 27 units permitted in Poweshiek County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Poweshiek County population projected to shrink 3% 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 $8k cash investment doubles in ~2 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 36.2% vs local median 3.0% in Grinnell — 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 1900 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• 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?
• 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.