4960 Laurel Lodge Lot 44 Rd

Clarkesville, GA 30523

$185,900D-

1 bd · 2.0 ba · 2,904 sqft · Built 2024 · SingleFamily · New · 3 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,278/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$924
• Tax + insurance: −$234
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$268
• Net cashflow: $-148/mo
• Annual: $-1,776/yr
• Cap rate: 5.28%
• Cash-on-cash: -3.60%
• DSCR: 0.84
• 1% rule: 0.73%
• Cash to close: $49,320

Investor read

• This is a 1-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $186k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-148 ($-2k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $150k (19.3% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $128k (31.3% below list).
• Only 3 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $128k (31.3% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $4k of equity ($1k loan paydown + $3k appreciation (1.6% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 72/100 on livability (#66 in GA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F, health & safety D-.
• Rabun County (rural): math 42% / reading 44% proficiency, ranked #37 of 174 in GA (top 21%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Rabun County Elementary School (math 37% / reading 42%, grade F, #435 of 1,228 statewide, top 37%, 660 students, 58% FRL); Rabun County Middle School (math 47% / reading 46%, grade D+, #94 of 470 statewide, top 20%, 342 students, 59% FRL); Rabun County High School (math 57% / reading 47%, grade D+, #26 of 424 statewide, top 6%, 653 students, 48% FRL) — zoned schools at 55% FRL track the district average.
• Market conditions: 294 active listings in the ZIP; 147 units permitted in Rabun County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Rabun County population projected at -14% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 20 sale attempts since 9y ago; this cycle's ask is 26% above the opening price — seller raised mid-cycle; expect resistance to lowballs.
• Current owner paid $96k; list at $186k implies a 94% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• By year 8, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$30k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.
• Cap rate 5.3% vs local median 1.7% in Clarkesville — 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

• 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?
• Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
• 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.