53 West St

Auburn, NY 13021

$36,900D

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,242 sqft · Built 1920 · SingleFamily · Pending · 30 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,558/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$194
• Tax + insurance: −$109
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$327
• Net cashflow: $928/mo
• Annual: $11,137/yr
• Cap rate: 36.47%
• Cash-on-cash: 107.79%
• DSCR: 5.80
• 1% rule: 4.22%
• Cash to close: $10,332

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $37k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $928 ($11k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $37k).
• It's been on market 30 days — a 2% lower offer ($36k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $36k (1.5% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $255 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $1k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 74/100 on livability (#298 in NY, #4,814 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: amenities D-, commute F, employment D-.
• Auburn City School District (town): math 31% / reading 39% proficiency, ranked #558 of 590 in NY (top 95%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Casey Park Elementary School (math 13% / reading 25%, grade F, #2,000 of 2,108 statewide, top 95%, 392 students, 78% FRL); Auburn Junior High School (math 16% / reading 26%, grade F, #661 of 729 statewide, top 91%, 598 students, 81% FRL); Auburn High School (math 88% / reading 84%, grade A, #347 of 1,100 statewide, top 32%, 1,183 students, 51% FRL) — zoned schools average 70% FRL vs 42% district-wide (28 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 3.1% of price; built in 1920 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 221 active listings in the ZIP; 161 units permitted in Cayuga County in 2024 (65 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Cayuga County population projected at -18% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 5 sale attempts since 14y 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 $27k; 37% above their basis — modest negotiation headroom, anchor on the comps not their cost.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $10k cash investment doubles in ~2 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 36.5% vs local median 7.6% in Auburn — 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.
• This rent runs 31% of the median local income ($61k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

Questions for listing agent

• Built in 1920 — 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.