126 E South St

Schoolcraft, MI 49097

$199,900D

4 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,665 sqft · Built 1920 · SingleFamily · Pending · 39 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,769/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,048
• Tax + insurance: −$422
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$372
• Net cashflow: $-72/mo
• Annual: $-867/yr
• Cap rate: 5.86%
• Cash-on-cash: -1.55%
• DSCR: 0.93
• 1% rule: 0.89%
• Cash to close: $55,972

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $200k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-72 ($-867/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $187k (6.4% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $177k (11.5% below list).
• It's been on market 39 days — a 3% lower offer ($194k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $177k (11.5% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $1k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $6k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 81/100 on livability (#61 in MI, #1,323 nationally) — a professional / high-income tenant draw. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F.
• Vicksburg Community Schools (suburban): math 42% / reading 56% proficiency, ranked #100 of 540 in MI (top 18%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Indian Lake Elementary School (math 62% / reading 57%, grade B-, #200 of 1,397 statewide, top 16%, 285 students, 35% FRL); Vicksburg Middle School (math 40% / reading 57%, grade C-, #133 of 493 statewide, top 28%, 582 students, 38% FRL); Vicksburg High School (math 42% / reading 62%, grade D+, #128 of 713 statewide, top 19%, 728 students, 27% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1920 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 141 active listings in the ZIP; solid renter incomes; 339 units permitted in Kalamazoo County in 2024 (22 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Kalamazoo County population projected at +18% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 17 sale attempts since 25y ago; this cycle's ask has dropped $25k (11%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• Cap rate 5.9% vs local median 2.8% in Schoolcraft — 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?
• It's been on market 39 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 11% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1920 — 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.