309 9th Street St N

La Crosse, WI 54601

$1,200,000D

None bd · None ba · — sqft · Built 1985 · MultiFamily · Active · 11 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $10,156/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$6,293
• Tax + insurance: −$1,653
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$2,133
• Net cashflow: $77/mo
• Annual: $930/yr
• Cap rate: 6.37%
• Cash-on-cash: 0.28%
• DSCR: 1.01
• 1% rule: 0.85%
• Cash to close: $336,000

Investor read

• This is a 8 × 2-bed/1.0-bath units multifamily listed at $1.20M.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $77 ($930/yr) — positive. Per door: $10/mo.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $1.02M (15.4% below list).
• Only 11 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $1.02M (15.4% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $8k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $36k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 69/100 on livability (#339 in WI) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: employment C-, health & safety D, crime F.
• La Crosse School District (urban): math 29% / reading 34% proficiency, ranked #267 of 342 in WI (top 78%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Emerson Elementary (math 42% / reading 37%, grade F, #490 of 1,041 statewide, top 53%, 311 students, 31% FRL); Lincoln Middle (math 34% / reading 41%, grade F, #172 of 383 statewide, top 45%, 277 students, 41% FRL); Logan High (math 17% / reading 27%, grade F, #349 of 483 statewide, top 75%, 754 students, 47% FRL) — zoned schools at 40% FRL track the district average.
• Market conditions: Rents rising (+2.7%/yr); 224 active listings in the ZIP; 20 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals lingering (median 46d on market — plan ~5-8 weeks vacancy on turnover, expect pricing pressure); 100% of comp listings sitting > 30 days — soft ceiling on asking rent; 268 units permitted in La Crosse County in 2024 (10 in 5+ unit buildings).
• La Crosse County population projected at +14% by 2050 — modest demand growth; plan on rents tracking national, not racing it.
• 2 sale attempts since 5y 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.
• Current owner paid $975k; 23% above their basis — modest negotiation headroom, anchor on the comps not their cost.
• Cap rate 6.4% vs local median 3.1% in La Crosse — 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.
• At $10,156/mo this rent would consume 198% of the median local household income ($62k/yr) (locally 2352% of renters already pay >50% of income on rent) — very limited rent-growth headroom before tenants either downsize or default.

Questions for listing agent

• Can we see the unit-by-unit rent roll, current vacancy, and any below-market leases? What's the average tenancy length?
• What capital expenditures (roof, boiler, parking lot, exteriors) have been made in the last 5 years, and what's planned in the next 2?
• 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?
• Crime grade is F in this area — have there been break-ins, vandalism, or insurance claims at this property in the last 3 years? What carrier currently insures it and at what premium?
• 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.