3 E Main St

Cortland, NY 13045

$215,000D-

4 bd · 3.0 ba · 2,553 sqft · Built 1880 · SingleFamily · Pending · 20 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,897/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,127
• Tax + insurance: −$541
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$398
• Net cashflow: $-169/mo
• Annual: $-2,031/yr
• Cap rate: 5.35%
• Cash-on-cash: -3.37%
• DSCR: 0.85
• 1% rule: 0.88%
• Cash to close: $60,200

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/3.0-bath single-family listed at $215k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-169 ($-2k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $185k (13.9% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $190k (11.7% below list).
• It's been on market 20 days — a 2% lower offer ($212k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $185k (13.9% below list) — sets the bar for cash-flow.
• 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 77/100 on livability (#201 in NY, #3,105 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: crime C-, employment D, commute F.
• Cortland City School District (town): math 49% / reading 54% proficiency, ranked #368 of 590 in NY (top 62%) — acceptable for families but not a draw, mixed tenant base, ~2y average lease.
• Zoned schools: Fe Smith Intermediate School (math 42% / reading 47%, grade F, #1,277 of 2,108 statewide, top 64%, 271 students, 65% FRL); Cortland High School (math 92% / reading 92%, grade A+, #171 of 1,100 statewide, top 18%, 596 students, 42% FRL).
• Zoned-school proficiency averages 68% at this address vs 52% district-wide (+17 pts) — the actual schools serving this property are materially stronger than the Cortland City School District average implies; a family-tenant draw the district grade alone would hide.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 2.5% of price; built in 1880 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+8.4%/yr); 142 active listings in the ZIP; 1 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; 45 units permitted in Cortland County in 2024 (12 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Cortland County population projected at -15% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• Current owner paid $78k; list at $215k implies a 176% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• This rent runs 33% of the median local income ($70k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

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 1880 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• Property tax is high relative to price — has the assessment been appealed recently, and will the sale trigger a re-assessment?
• Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
• Schools are D-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
• 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.