534 Cass St S

Sauk Centre, MN 56378

$99,000B

4 bd · 1.0 ba · 935 sqft · Built 1946 · SingleFamily · Pending · 3 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,515/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$519
• Tax + insurance: −$101
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$318
• Net cashflow: $576/mo
• Annual: $6,916/yr
• Cap rate: 13.28%
• Cash-on-cash: 24.95%
• DSCR: 2.11
• 1% rule: 1.53%
• Cash to close: $27,720

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $99k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $576 ($7k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $99k).
• 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 $684 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $3k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 77/100 on livability (#127 in MN, #2,899 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F.
• Sauk Centre Public School District (town): math 42% / reading 51% proficiency, ranked #164 of 301 in MN (top 54%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Sauk Centre Elementary (math 37% / reading 42%, grade F, #604 of 857 statewide, top 74%, 390 students, 50% FRL); Sauk Centre Middle (math 27% / reading 47%, grade F, #163 of 258 statewide, top 65%, 141 students, 52% FRL); Sauk Centre Secondary (math 52% / reading 58%, grade C, #83 of 471 statewide, top 18%, 608 students, 38% FRL) — zoned schools average 47% FRL vs 29% district-wide (18 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Watch-outs: built in 1946 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 58 active listings in the ZIP; 661 units permitted in Stearns County in 2024 (291 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Stearns County population projected at +9% by 2050 — modest demand growth; plan on rents tracking national, not racing it.
• Current owner paid $40k; list at $99k implies a 148% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $28k cash investment doubles in ~5 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 13.3% vs local median 3.7% in Sauk Centre — 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 1946 — 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 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?
• 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.