7011 Helen St

Garden City, MI 48135

$234,900F

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 925 sqft · Built 1966 · SingleFamily · Pending · 17 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,686/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,232
• Tax + insurance: −$323
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$354
• Net cashflow: $-223/mo
• Annual: $-2,681/yr
• Cap rate: 5.15%
• Cash-on-cash: -4.08%
• DSCR: 0.82
• 1% rule: 0.72%
• Cash to close: $65,772

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $235k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-223 ($-3k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $195k (16.8% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $169k (28.2% below list).
• It's been on market 17 days — a 2% lower offer ($231k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $169k (28.2% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $2k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $7k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 82/100 on livability (#53 in MI, #1,047 nationally) — a professional / high-income tenant draw. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, commute A; Watch: employment C-.
• Garden City Public Schools (suburban): math 22% / reading 36% proficiency, ranked #365 of 540 in MI (top 68%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Zoned schools: Douglas Elementary 34 Campus (math 29% / reading 32%, grade F, #858 of 1,397 statewide, top 61%, 433 students, 61% FRL); Garden City Middle School (math 20% / reading 36%, grade F, #359 of 493 statewide, top 73%, 435 students, 58% FRL); Garden City High School (math 17% / reading 42%, grade F, #441 of 713 statewide, top 64%, 846 students, 44% FRL).
• Market conditions: Rents rising (+3.6%/yr); 139 active listings in the ZIP; 14 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals leasing fast (median 7d on market — plan ~1-2 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); 2,639 units permitted in Wayne County in 2024 (1,216 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Wayne County population projected at -17% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 2 sale attempts 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.
• This rent runs 30% of the median local income ($67k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

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 1966 — 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.