726 S 4th St

Forest City, IA 50436

$114,000D

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,058 sqft · Built 1906 · SingleFamily · Pending · 64 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $976/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$598
• Tax + insurance: −$172
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$205
• Net cashflow: $2/mo
• Annual: $20/yr
• Cap rate: 6.31%
• Cash-on-cash: 0.06%
• DSCR: 1.00
• 1% rule: 0.86%
• Cash to close: $31,920

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $114k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $2 ($20/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 $98k (14.4% below list).
• It's been on market 64 days — a 6% lower offer ($107k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $98k (14.4% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $788 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $3k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 77/100 on livability (#160 in IA, #2,902 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, health & safety A+, housing A; Watch: employment C-, amenities F, commute F.
• Forest City Community School District (town): math 67% / reading 78% proficiency, ranked #111 of 289 in IA (top 38%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical.
• Zoned schools: Forest City Elementary School (math 62% / reading 72%, grade B+, #273 of 616 statewide, top 51%, 487 students, 39% FRL); Forest City Middle School (math 69% / reading 83%, grade A, #59 of 246 statewide, top 26%, 330 students, 41% FRL); Forest City High School (math 66% / reading 75%, grade B+, #140 of 336 statewide, top 43%, 324 students, 35% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1906 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 45 active listings in the ZIP; 6 units permitted in Winnebago County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Winnebago County population projected at -10% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 2 sale attempts since 7y 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 $79k; 44% above their basis — modest negotiation headroom, anchor on the comps not their cost.
• Cap rate 6.3% vs local median 4.1% in Forest City — 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 64 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 14% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1906 — 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 B-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.