601 Woodard Dr

Kirkwood, MO 63122

$265,000D

2 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,167 sqft · Built 1941 · SingleFamily · Pending · 4 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,754/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,390
• Tax + insurance: −$377
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$368
• Net cashflow: $-381/mo
• Annual: $-4,573/yr
• Cap rate: 4.57%
• Cash-on-cash: -6.16%
• DSCR: 0.73
• 1% rule: 0.66%
• Cash to close: $74,200

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $265k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-381 ($-5k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $198k (25.4% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $175k (33.8% below list).
• Only 4 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $175k (33.8% 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 $8k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 78/100 on livability (#27 in MO, #2,478 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: employment A+, housing A+, crime B; Watch: cost of living C-, commute F.
• Kirkwood R-VII (suburban): math 57% / reading 68% proficiency, ranked #5 of 324 in MO (top 2%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease; only 11% free/reduced lunch — higher-income household profile.
• Zoned schools: W. W. Keysor Elem. (math 56% / reading 66%, grade B, #114 of 1,115 statewide, top 10%, 618 students, 5% FRL); North Kirkwood Middle (math 55% / reading 68%, grade B+, #16 of 391 statewide, top 4%, 653 students, 9% FRL); Kirkwood Sr. High (math 72% / reading 79%, grade A-, #3 of 521 statewide, top 0%, 1,775 students, 11% FRL) — zoned schools at 9% FRL track the district average.
• Watch-outs: built in 1941 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+6.6%/yr); 214 active listings in the ZIP; 18 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals leasing fast (median 9d on market — plan ~1-2 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); high-income renter base; 920 units permitted in St. Louis County in 2024 (250 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 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.
• Current owner paid $220k; 20% above their basis — modest negotiation headroom, anchor on the comps not their cost.
• Cap rate 4.6% vs local median 2.4% in Kirkwood — 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.
• This rent is only 15% of the median local income ($136k/yr) — well below the 30% rent-burden line; pricing power to push rent on renewal without tenant pushback.

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 1941 — 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 A-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?
• 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.