29-31 Sprague St

Malden, MA 02148

$1,500,000D-

30 bd · 25.0 ba · 4,057 sqft · Built 1900 · MultiFamily · Active · 13 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $12,640/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$7,866
• Tax + insurance: −$2,500
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$2,654
• Net cashflow: $-381/mo
• Annual: $-4,567/yr
• Cap rate: 5.99%
• Cash-on-cash: -1.09%
• DSCR: 0.95
• 1% rule: 0.84%
• Cash to close: $420,000

Investor read

• This is a 4×1bd/1.0ba + 1×3bd/1.0ba units multifamily listed at $1.50M. Condition is rated average.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-381 ($-5k/yr) — negative. Per door: $-76/mo.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $1.44M (3.7% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $1.26M (15.7% below list).
• Only 13 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $1.26M (15.7% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $10k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $45k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 81/100 on livability (#29 in MA, #1,360 nationally) — a professional / high-income tenant draw. Strengths: amenities A+, commute A+, health & safety A+; Watch: cost of living F.
• Malden (suburban): math 26% / reading 42% proficiency, ranked #238 of 302 in MA (top 79%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Salemwood (math 15% / reading 32%, grade F, #745 of 938 statewide, top 80%, 1,024 students, 0% FRL); Malden High (math 44% / reading 56%, grade D+, #182 of 343 statewide, top 53%, 1,856 students, 0% FRL) — zoned schools average 0% FRL vs 54% district-wide (54 pts lower); this property's tenant base skews higher-income than the district average.
• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents soft (-0.8%/yr); 52 active listings in the ZIP; solid renter incomes; 3,670 units permitted in Middlesex County in 2024 (2,611 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Middlesex County population projected at +20% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• Climate carrying-cost: major wind risk, 64% chance of damaging wind over 30y; extreme-heat days projected 7→15/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 6.0% vs local median 3.2% in Malden — 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 $12,640/mo this rent would consume 151% of the median local household income ($101k/yr) (locally 3600% 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?
• Can we see the unit-by-unit rent roll, current vacancy, and any below-market leases? What's the average tenancy length?
• What capital expenditures (roof, boiler, parking lot, exteriors) have been made in the last 5 years, and what's planned in the next 2?
• Built in 1900 — 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?
• 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.

Repairs flagged (vision-AI assessment)

• Major: bathroom fixtures — outdated and in poor condition
• Minor: kitchen cabinets — slight wear