171 Brown St

Cowpens, SC 29330

$158,500D+

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 960 sqft · Built 1979 · SingleFamily · Active · 117 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,526/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$831
• Tax + insurance: −$207
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$321
• Net cashflow: $168/mo
• Annual: $2,017/yr
• Cap rate: 7.57%
• Cash-on-cash: 4.55%
• DSCR: 1.20
• 1% rule: 0.96%
• Cash to close: $44,380

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $158k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $168 ($2k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $153k (3.7% below list).
• It's been on market 117 days — a 9% lower offer ($144k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $144k (9.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $1k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $5k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 61/100 on livability (#213 in SC) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing B+; Watch: amenities F, commute F, employment F.
• Spartanburg 03 (suburban): math 39% / reading 49% proficiency, ranked #28 of 80 in SC (top 35%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Cowpens Elementary (math 57% / reading 52%, grade C, #123 of 597 statewide, top 22%, 461 students, 100% FRL); Clifdale Middle (695 students, 78% FRL); Broome High (math 42% / reading 80%, grade C+, #105 of 196 statewide, top 54%, 825 students, 68% FRL) — zoned schools average 82% FRL vs 57% district-wide (25 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Zoned-school proficiency averages 58% at this address vs 44% district-wide (+14 pts) — the actual schools serving this property are materially stronger than the Spartanburg 03 average implies; a family-tenant draw the district grade alone would hide.
• Market conditions: 69 active listings in the ZIP; 2 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 3,129 units permitted in Spartanburg County in 2024 (40 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Spartanburg County population projected at +18% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 3 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.
• Climate carrying-cost: extreme-heat days projected 7→15/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 7.6% vs local median 3.7% in Cowpens — 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.

Questions for listing agent

• It's been on market 117 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 9% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1979 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• 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 F-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.