220 E Van Buren St

Columbia City, IN 46725

$137,500F

1 bd · 3.0 ba · 2,142 sqft · Built 1942 · SingleFamily · Pending

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,075/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$721
• Tax + insurance: −$224
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$226
• Net cashflow: $-96/mo
• Annual: $-1,149/yr
• Cap rate: 5.46%
• Cash-on-cash: -2.98%
• DSCR: 0.87
• 1% rule: 0.78%
• Cash to close: $38,500

Investor read

• This is a 1-bed/3.0-bath single-family listed at $138k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-96 ($-1k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $121k (12.3% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $108k (21.8% below list).
• Only 0 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $108k (21.8% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $951 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $4k 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: Mary Raber Elementary School (math 32% / reading 32%, grade F, #652 of 994 statewide, top 68%, 251 students, 51% 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: built in 1942 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 113 active listings in the ZIP; 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.
• 3 sale attempts since 3y ago; this cycle's ask has dropped $12k (8%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• Cap rate 5.5% vs local median 3.6% 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

• 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?
• Built in 1942 — 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 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.