312 S Main St

Buffalo Center, IA 50424

$21,500C-

3 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,347 sqft · Built 1927 · SingleFamily · Active · 209 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,156/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$113
• Tax + insurance: −$92
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$243
• Net cashflow: $709/mo
• Annual: $8,503/yr
• Cap rate: 45.84%
• Cash-on-cash: 141.25%
• DSCR: 7.28
• 1% rule: 5.38%
• Cash to close: $6,020

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $22k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $709 ($9k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $22k).
• It's been on market 209 days — a 12% lower offer ($19k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $19k (12.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• In year one you build about $2k of equity ($149 loan paydown + $1k appreciation (6.8% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 75/100 on livability (#227 in IA, #4,313 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F, employment F.
• North Iowa Community School District (rural): math 56% / reading 60% proficiency, ranked #252 of 289 in IA (top 87%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 4.6% of price; built in 1927 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 12 active listings in the ZIP; 6 units permitted in Winnebago County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Winnebago County population projected at -10% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• At projected returns (6.8% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $6k cash investment doubles in ~1 year — after that, you're playing with house money.

Questions for listing agent

• It's been on market 209 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 12% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1927 — 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?
• Why hasn't it sold? Are there any deal-killer items the seller is aware of (foundation, flood, title, zoning, code violations)?
• 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.