The Harrington Plan

Eatonton, GA 31024

$297,900F

4 bd · 2.5 ba · 2,565 sqft · Built — · SingleFamily · Active · 738 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,523/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,765
• Tax + insurance: −$561
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$530
• Net cashflow: $-333/mo
• Annual: $-3,991/yr
• Cap rate: 5.11%
• Cash-on-cash: -4.23%
• DSCR: 0.81
• 1% rule: 0.75%
• Cash to close: $94,246

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/2.5-bath single-family listed at $298k. Condition is rated good.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-333 ($-4k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $288k (3.2% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $252k (15.3% below list).
• It's been on market 738 days — a 12% lower offer ($262k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $252k (15.3% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $2k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $10k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 71/100 on livability (#76 in GA) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, crime A; Watch: amenities F, commute F, employment F.
• Putnam County (rural): math 33% / reading 30% proficiency, ranked #86 of 174 in GA (top 49%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases; 69% free/reduced lunch — lower-income household profile, screen leases tightly.
• Zoned schools: Putnam County Primary School (756 students, 81% FRL); Putnam County Middle School (math 31% / reading 33%, grade F, #229 of 470 statewide, top 49%, 681 students, 81% FRL); Putnam County High School (math 8% / reading 32%, grade F, #238 of 424 statewide, top 57%, 919 students, 81% FRL).
• Market conditions: 533 active listings in the ZIP; 129 units permitted in Putnam County in 2024 (50 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Putnam County population projected at -18% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• Cap rate 5.1% vs local median 3.7% in Eatonton — 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.
• At $2,523/mo this rent would consume 46% of the median local household income ($66k/yr) (locally 696% of renters already pay >50% of income on rent) — very limited rent-growth headroom before tenants either downsize or default.

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 738 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 15% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• 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 F-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.