1415 N Elm St St

Fairmont, MN 56031

$11,900D

1 bd · 1.0 ba · 694 sqft · Built 1948 · SingleFamily · Active · 181 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $947/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$62
• Tax + insurance: −$39
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$199
• Net cashflow: $647/mo
• Annual: $7,767/yr
• Cap rate: 71.56%
• Cash-on-cash: 233.11%
• DSCR: 11.37
• 1% rule: 7.96%
• Cash to close: $3,332

Investor read

• This is a 1-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $12k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $647 ($8k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($947 rent vs $12k).
• It's been on market 181 days — a 12% lower offer ($10k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $10k (12.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $82 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $357 of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 68/100 on livability (#407 in MN) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: health & safety C-, employment D+, amenities F.
• Fairmont Area School District (town): math 45% / reading 51% proficiency, ranked #148 of 301 in MN (top 49%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Watch-outs: property tax is 3.4% of price; built in 1948 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 94 active listings in the ZIP; 19 units permitted in Martin County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Martin County population projected at -19% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 2 sale attempts; this cycle's ask has dropped $28k (70%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $3k cash investment doubles in ~1 year — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 71.6% vs local median 3.4% in Fairmont — 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

• It's been on market 181 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 12% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1948 — 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?
• 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.