11224 Us Highway 231 S

Romney, IN 47981

$200,000D+

4 bd · 1.0 ba · 2,512 sqft · Built 1914 · SingleFamily · Pending · 5 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,454/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,049
• Tax + insurance: −$171
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$305
• Net cashflow: $-71/mo
• Annual: $-855/yr
• Cap rate: 5.87%
• Cash-on-cash: -1.53%
• DSCR: 0.93
• 1% rule: 0.73%
• Cash to close: $56,000

Investor read

• This is a 4-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $200k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-71 ($-855/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $187k (6.3% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $145k (27.3% below list).
• Only 5 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• Recommended offer: $145k (27.3% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $6k of equity ($1k loan paydown + $5k appreciation (2.5% local appreciation)).
• Location reads: area grade D — affects rentability + tenant quality, not the cash-flow math above.
• Tippecanoe School Corporation (rural): math 44% / reading 49% proficiency, ranked #80 of 301 in IN (top 27%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Mintonye Elementary School (math 44% / reading 41%, grade F, #425 of 994 statewide, top 44%, 469 students, 28% FRL); Southwestern Middle School (math 27% / reading 30%, grade F, #224 of 330 statewide, top 68%, 496 students, 40% FRL); Mccutcheon High School (math 36% / reading 64%, grade D+, #120 of 369 statewide, top 33%, 1,825 students, 44% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1914 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 6 active listings in the ZIP; 1,341 units permitted in Tippecanoe County in 2024 (869 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Tippecanoe County population projected at +41% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 2 sale attempts since 10y ago with the ask held roughly flat each time — persistent listings suggest the price (not the market) is what's stuck; bring a comps-based counter.
• Current owner paid $105k; list at $200k implies a 90% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (2.5% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $56k cash investment doubles in ~8 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• By year 6, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$34k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.

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?
• Built in 1914 — 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.
• 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.
• 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.