1603 Gowrie St · Ruthven, IA 51358

$68,000

4 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,252 sqft · SingleFamily public records · 15 Days on market

Built 1890 7,392 sqft lot

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Why this score? — see what drove the B+ grade

The composite is a weighted blend of 9 inputs, each scored 0–100. Each bar is that input's sub-score; the figure is the points it added to the 100-point composite (weight × sub-score).

• Cash flow +30.0/30.0
• 1% rule +10.0/10.0
• DSCR +10.0/10.0
• ARV discount +7.5/15.0
• Appreciation +5.7/10.0
• Schools +4.8/10.0
• Livability +3.3/5.0
• Rent growth +2.5/5.0
• Condition / age +2.5/5.0

Listing remarks

Opportunity is knocking! This 4-bedroom, 1-bath home sits on a spacious lot just minutes from the school and Lost Island Lake and offers plenty of potential for the next owner. With a little TLC and vision, this property could be transformed into a great home, weekend getaway, or investment opportunity. Features include a 1-stall attached garage, mature trees, and a large yard with plenty of room to enjoy the outdoors. If you're looking for an affordable property with room to build equity, this one is worth a look!

Key facts

• Large yard
• Spacious lot
• Mature trees

Tags

• SPACIOUS LOT
• MATURE TREES
• LARGE YARD
• INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

Property features AI

Exterior

• Parking: Attached garage with 1 garage space
• Utilities: Public water; Public sewer
• Home design: Single family residence; One and one-half story
• Construction: Vinyl siding
• Exterior features: Asphalt roof; Publicly maintained road

Interior

• Kitchen: Disposal; Refrigerator; Water purifier
• Bathrooms: 1 full bathroom
• Heating & cooling: Natural gas forced air heating; Window air conditioning units; Ceiling fans
• Interior features: Disposal; Refrigerator; Water purifier; Unfinished partial basement
• Laundry & utility: Laundry on main level

What this means for you Summary

Snapshot

• This is a 4-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $68k.

Deal economics

• At list price, monthly cash flow is $422 ($5k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $68k).
• Recommended offer: $67k (1.5% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.

Location & tenants

• Location reads 66/100 on livability (#534 in IA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: health & safety C-, employment D, amenities F.
• Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School District (rural): math 50% / reading 60% proficiency, ranked #309 of 330 in IA (top 94%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Market conditions: 16 active listings in the ZIP; 19 units permitted in Palo Alto County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).

Forward outlook

• In year one you build about $1k of equity ($470 loan paydown + $931 appreciation (1.4% local appreciation)).
• Palo Alto County population projected to shrink 7% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• At projected returns (1.4% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $19k cash investment doubles in ~3 years — after that, you're playing with house money.

Negotiation context

• It's been on market 15 days — a 2% lower offer ($67k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Current owner paid $10k; list at $68k implies a 580% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.

Risks & watch-outs

• Watch-outs: built in 1890 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.

Recommended offer $66,980 (1.5% below list)

Questions for the listing agent

1. Built in 1890 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
2. Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
3. 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?
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.

Investment metrics

• 1% rule: 1.66% ✓
• Cap rate: 13.74%
• Cash-on-cash: 26.59%
• DSCR: 2.18
• GRM: 5.0

CMA / ARV

• ARV (on-the-fly): $148,988
• Comps found: 3

Show comp detail 3 sales within ~0.75 mi

Address	Dist	Beds/Ba	Sqft	Sold	Price	$/sf	Match
3522 350th Ave	0.41mi	3/1.0 (-1)	1,195 (-5%)	1mo	$225,000	$188	68
1705 Scott St	0.10mi	3/1.0 (-1)	1,365 (+9%)	16mo	$87,500	$64	62
1101 Gowrie St	0.31mi	3/2.0 (-1)	1,346 (+8%)	17mo	$159,900	$119	50

Match score weights: distance 35% · size 25% · config 20% · recency 20%. Top-matched comps best support the ARV.

Projected returns pro-forma

1.37% appreciation · 3.0% rent growth · sell at horizon

5-year hold

• IRR: 29.6%
• Equity multiple: 2.54×
• Total profit: $29,399
• Equity at exit: $24,529

10-year hold

• IRR: 31.7%
• Equity multiple: 4.92×
• Total profit: $74,590
• Equity at exit: $33,639

Cash invested: $19,040 (down + closing). Projections, not guarantees.

Landlord ↔ Tenant lean methodology

• Overall (STATE): 83 Strongly Landlord-Friendly
• State Iowa: 83 Strongly Landlord-Friendly · R+6
• County: — inherits STATE
• City: — inherits STATE

3-day pay-or-quit; mostly landlord-friendly statewide.

Methodology + full state rankings →

ZIP-level market 51358

• Home prices YoY: 0.5%
• Active inventory: 16
• Price-to-rent: 5.0×

Monthly cashflow live

• Estimated rent: $1,129 medium
• Mortgage (P&I): −$357
• Tax est. 1.5%: −$85 /mo · $1,020/yr
• Insurance: −$28
• HOA: −$0
• Vacancy / Maint / Mgmt: −$237
• Net cashflow: $422

Break-even live

Break-even rent $595

Max offer price $68,000

Occupancy floor 58%

UW: 25.0% down · 7.5% · 30yr · 1.5% tax · 5.0% vac · 8.0% maint · 8.0% mgmt

Financing live

Cash to close

• Down payment: $17,000
• Closing costs: $2,040
• Reserves months: —
• Total cash needed: —

Listing history 9 events

1. 2026-06-18
   days on market $68,000 Active 15 DOM
2. 2026-06-17
   days on market $68,000 Active 14 DOM
3. 2026-06-16
   days on market $68,000 Active 13 DOM
4. 2026-06-15
   days on market $68,000 Active 12 DOM
5. 2026-06-13
   days on market $68,000 Active 10 DOM
6. 2026-06-12
   days on market $68,000 Active 9 DOM
7. 2026-06-09
   days on market $68,000 Active 6 DOM
8. 2026-06-09
   remarks 520-char remark
9. 2026-06-09
   listed $68,000 Active 5 DOM

ⓘ Source: listings_history table (triggers on properties + properties_extension) + one-shot backfill from property_details.listing_events for pre-trigger history.

Climate risk First Street

• 🌊 Flood 1/10 Low FEMA zone X (unshaded) · 0% chance over 30 yrs
• 🔥 Wildfire 3/10 Moderate
• 🌡 Heat 2/10 Low 7 d/yr ≥99°F today · 16 d/yr by 30 yrs out
• 💨 Wind 2/10 Low
• 🫁 Air quality 2/10 Low 1 unhealthy d/yr today · 1 by 30 yrs out

Taxation est. · year 1

• Rental income: $13,548
• − Mortgage interest: −$3,809
• − Property taxes: −$1,020
• − Insurance: −$340
• − Repairs & maintenance: −$1,084
• − Management: −$1,084
• − Depreciation: −$1,978
• Taxable income: $4,233
• Est. tax owed @ 24.0%: −$1,016
• After-tax cash flow: $4,048/yr

For passive investors: Depreciation is non-cash, so a rental often shows a tax loss while cash-flowing — sheltering income. Rental losses are passive: they offset passive income freely, and up to $25,000/yr can offset ordinary (W-2) income if you actively participate and your MAGI is under $100k (phasing out to $0 by $150k); unused losses carry forward. On sale, claimed depreciation is recaptured at up to 25%, and gains may owe capital-gains tax (a 1031 exchange can defer both). Figures are a year-1 estimate at your 24.0% rate — not tax advice; consult a CPA.

Schools (NCES district)

• District: Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School District
• NCES district ID: 1925050
• Math proficiency: 50% ▼ -25.00%
• Reading proficiency: 60% ▼ -5.00%
• Median HH income: $44,398
• Composite: 48.19/100
• National rank: #4727
• State rank: #309 of 330 in IA

Livability — Ruthven

• Score: 66/100
• State rank: #534
• US rank: #11944

Category grades

Amenities F Commute F Cost of living A+ Crime C Employment D Housing A+ Health & safety C- User ratings A

Schools grade is shown separately in the Schools card above.

Census & demographics

• Census place: Ruthven, IA
• City population: 1,277
• Population (ZIP): 1,277

Population outlook (Palo Alto County) Hauer SSP2

• Today (2025): 8,816 people
• By 2030: 8,634 · -2.1%
• By 2040: 8,334 · -5.5%
• By 2050: 8,232 · -6.6%
• By 2075: 8,533 · -3.2%
• By 2100: 8,976 · +1.8%

Race, ethnicity, and origin ACS 2023

• Neighborhood character: Predominantly White (87%)
• Race & ethnicity: White 87% Two or more races 11% Hispanic / Latino 5% Asian 1%
• Common ancestry: Portuguese 5% Russian 3% Iranian 2%
• Foreign-born: 2% · Canada, Vietnam
• Languages at home: 97% English-only · Spanish 2% Tagalog/Filipino 1%

Political lean MEDSL · Palo Alto

• 2024 margin: Solid R (+45.0) · D 26.9% · R 71.9% · Other 1.2%
• 2008→2024 swing: -47.8pp toward R · 2008: 2.8pp · 2024: -45.0pp
• All cycles: 2024: R+45.0 2020: R+37.3 2016: R+36.0 2012: R+10.8 2008: D+2.8

Not yet ingested

• Civics: —

Market trends

• HPI YoY: ▲ 1.37%
• Current HPI: 266.9712
• Rent YoY: —
• Metro: —
• State GDP YoY: ▲ 2.48%
• F500 in state: 4

Industry mix (Fortune 500 HQ in IA)

Industry	F500 HQs	Revenue
▸Financial Services	1	$16B
▸Retail / Convenience	1	$15B

Price history

+580.0% since first listed

2 events — show timeline

• 2026-06-03 Listed $68,000 Iowa Great Lakes BOR
• 2010-12-16 Sold (Public Records) $10,000 Public Records

Property tax history

-7.0%/yr

Latest (2025): $90 · -23.7% YoY. Source: county tax records.