5 Water St

Elyria, OH 44035

$94,500B-

4 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,844 sqft · Built 1900 · SingleFamily · Active · 3 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,339/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$496
• Tax + insurance: −$186
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$281
• Net cashflow: $376/mo
• Annual: $4,509/yr
• Cap rate: 11.06%
• Cash-on-cash: 17.04%
• DSCR: 1.76
• 1% rule: 1.42%
• Cash to close: $26,460

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $94k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $376 ($5k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $94k).
• Only 3 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $653 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $3k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 75/100 on livability (#243 in OH, #3,869 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A; Watch: schools C-, employment D, commute F.
• Elyria City Schools (urban): math 21% / reading 37% proficiency, ranked #586 of 656 in OH (top 89%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+6.7%/yr); 360 active listings in the ZIP; 3 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals leasing fast (median 6d on market — plan ~1-2 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); 1,098 units permitted in Lorain County in 2024 (20 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 7 sale attempts since 30y 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 $40k; list at $94k implies a 136% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 6.7% rent growth), your $26k cash investment doubles in ~6 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 11.1% vs local median 4.0% in Elyria — 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

• Built in 1900 — 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.
• 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.