514 W Benton St

Tomah, WI 54460

$195,000D+

4 bd · 2.0 ba · 2,070 sqft · Built 1900 · SingleFamily · Active · 823 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,346/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,023
• Tax + insurance: −$321
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$283
• Net cashflow: $-280/mo
• Annual: $-3,356/yr
• Cap rate: 4.57%
• Cash-on-cash: -6.15%
• DSCR: 0.73
• 1% rule: 0.69%
• Cash to close: $54,600

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $195k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-280 ($-3k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $146k (25.3% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $135k (31.0% below list).
• It's been on market 823 days — a 12% lower offer ($172k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $135k (31.0% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $21k of equity ($1k loan paydown + $20k appreciation (10.0% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 79/100 on livability (#83 in WI, #2,189 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: crime C-, amenities F.
• Tomah Area School District (town): math 27% / reading 28% proficiency, ranked #293 of 342 in WI (top 86%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Zoned schools: Miller Elementary (math 32% / reading 27%, grade F, #705 of 1,041 statewide, top 71%, 250 students, 52% FRL); Tomah Middle (math 28% / reading 29%, grade F, #282 of 383 statewide, top 76%, 676 students, 46% FRL); Tomah High (math 11% / reading 25%, grade F, #397 of 483 statewide, top 82%, 868 students, 41% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 4 active listings in the ZIP; 93 units permitted in Monroe County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Monroe County population projected to shrink 9% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• 3 sale attempts since 2y ago; this cycle's ask has dropped $40k (17%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• By year 2, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$34k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.
• Cap rate 4.6% vs local median 3.6% in Tomah — meaningfully above typical; check what's discounted (condition, days-on-market, listing class) to confirm the premium yield is real.

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 823 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 31% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1900 — 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.
• 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.