240 Metcalf · Cottonwood, AL 36320

$169,900

4 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,296 sqft · SingleFamily public records · 7 Days on market

Built 1950 2.43 ac lot Est $184k · 8% under

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Why this score? — see what drove the D+ grade

The composite is a weighted blend of 9 inputs, each scored 0–100. Each bar is that input's sub-score; the figure is the points it added to the 100-point composite (weight × sub-score).

• Cash flow +14.3/30.0
• ARV discount +11.0/15.0
• DSCR +4.4/10.0
• 1% rule +4.0/10.0
• Livability +3.4/5.0
• Schools +3.1/10.0
• Rent growth +2.5/5.0
• Condition / age +2.5/5.0
• Appreciation +0.0/10.0

Listing remarks

Wander on home to this delightful little cottage featuring three, possibly four, cozy bedrooms with two full bathrooms. You'll love the inviting den that opens up to a charming breakfast nook, perfect for enjoying your meals while overlooking the organized kitchen with beautiful, solid wooden cabinets and a handy eating bar. This expansive lot boasts 5 RV hook-ups AND a humongous storage/garage/man cave/apartment area. There's also a two-car garage or workshop that conveniently houses a three-room apartment with a kitchen and a full bathroom. Step out the back to a large covered outdoor space perfect for enjoying beautiful evenings while watching the sunset. Or if you are a morning person,

Key facts

• Expansive lot
• Rv hook-ups
• Handy eating bar

Tags

• INVITING DEN
• CHARMING BREAKFAST NOOK
• SOLID WOODEN CABINETS
• HANDY EATING BAR
• EXPANSIVE LOT
• RV HOOK-UPS

What this means for you Summary

Snapshot

• This is a 4-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $170k.

Deal economics

• At list price, monthly cash flow is $32 ($381/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $153k (10.2% below list).
• Recommended offer: $153k (10.2% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.

Location & tenants

• Location reads 67/100 on livability (#82 in AL) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, health & safety A+, housing A; Watch: amenities F, commute F, employment F.
• Houston County (rural): math 25% / reading 49% proficiency, ranked #38 of 129 in AL (top 30%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Cottonwood Elementary School (481 students, 73% FRL); Cottonwood High School (math 14% / reading 39%, grade F, #107 of 305 statewide, top 36%, 398 students, 69% FRL) — zoned schools average 71% FRL vs 52% district-wide (19 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Market conditions: 38 active listings in the ZIP; 463 units permitted in Houston County in 2024 (96 in 5+ unit buildings).

Forward outlook

• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $1k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $5k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Houston County population projected at +7% by 2050 — modest demand growth; plan on rents tracking national, not racing it.

Negotiation context

• Only 7 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.

Risks & watch-outs

• Watch-outs: built in 1950 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Climate carrying-cost: severe wind risk, 99% chance of damaging wind over 30y; extreme-heat days projected 7→19/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.

Recommended offer $152,648 (10.2% below list)

Questions for the listing agent

1. Built in 1950 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
2. Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
3. Schools are D-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
4. 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?
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.

Investment metrics

• 1% rule: 0.90% ✗
• Cap rate: 6.52%
• Cash-on-cash: 0.80%
• DSCR: 1.04
• GRM: 9.3

CMA / ARV

• ARV (on-the-fly): $184,032
• Comps found: 1

Show comp detail 1 sale within ~0.75 mi

Address	Dist	Beds/Ba	Sqft	Sold	Price	$/sf	Match
11678 Cottonwood Rd	0.16mi	3/2.0 (-1)	1,324 (+2%)	13mo	$188,500	$142	73

Match score weights: distance 35% · size 25% · config 20% · recency 20%. Top-matched comps best support the ARV.

Projected returns pro-forma

-3.0% appreciation · 3.0% rent growth · sell at horizon

5-year hold

• IRR: -15.0%
• Equity multiple: 0.46×
• Total profit: $-25,484
• Equity at exit: $25,333

10-year hold

• IRR: -6.4%
• Equity multiple: 0.59×
• Total profit: $-19,491
• Equity at exit: $14,690

Cash invested: $47,572 (down + closing). Projections, not guarantees.

Landlord ↔ Tenant lean methodology

• Overall (STATE): 90 Strongly Landlord-Friendly
• State Alabama: 90 Strongly Landlord-Friendly · R+15
• County: — inherits STATE
• City: — inherits STATE

Right-to-evict in 7 days for non-payment; no rent control; preempted statewide; courts move quickly.

Methodology + full state rankings →

ZIP-level market 36320

• Home prices YoY: -10.7%
• Active inventory: 38
• Price-to-rent: 9.3×

Monthly cashflow live

• Estimated rent: $1,526 medium
• Mortgage (P&I): −$891
• Tax est. 1.5%: −$212 /mo · $2,548/yr
• Insurance: −$71
• HOA: −$0
• Vacancy / Maint / Mgmt: −$321
• Net cashflow: $32

Break-even live

Break-even rent $1,486

Max offer price $169,900

Occupancy floor 93%

Sensitivity live

Price	-10% $149	-5% $90	+0% $32	+5% $-27	+10% $-86
Rent	-10% $-89	-5% $-29	+0% $32	+5% $92	+10% $152
Rate	-1.0pp $117	-0.5pp $75	base $32	+0.5pp $-12	+1.0pp $-57

UW: 25.0% down · 7.5% · 30yr · 1.5% tax · 5.0% vac · 8.0% maint · 8.0% mgmt

Financing live

Cash to close

• Down payment: $42,475
• Closing costs: $5,097
• Reserves months: —
• Total cash needed: —

Listing history 3 events

1. 2026-04-23
   status Pending
2. 2026-04-23
   historical Active Under Contract
3. 2026-04-16
   listed $169,900 Active

ⓘ Source: listings_history table (triggers on properties + properties_extension) + one-shot backfill from property_details.listing_events for pre-trigger history.

Climate risk First Street

• 🌊 Flood 1/10 Low FEMA zone X (unshaded) · 0% chance over 30 yrs
• 🔥 Wildfire 4/10 Moderate
• 🌡 Heat 8/10 Severe 7 d/yr ≥107°F today · 19 d/yr by 30 yrs out
• 💨 Wind 8/10 Severe 99% chance of damaging wind over 30 yrs
• 🫁 Air quality 3/10 Moderate 3 unhealthy d/yr today · 3 by 30 yrs out

Taxation est. · year 1

• Rental income: $18,318
• − Mortgage interest: −$9,517
• − Property taxes: −$2,548
• − Insurance: −$850
• − Repairs & maintenance: −$1,465
• − Management: −$1,465
• − Depreciation: −$4,943
• Taxable loss: −$2,471
• Est. tax savings @ 24.0%: +$593
• After-tax cash flow: $974/yr

For passive investors: Depreciation is non-cash, so a rental often shows a tax loss while cash-flowing — sheltering income. Rental losses are passive: they offset passive income freely, and up to $25,000/yr can offset ordinary (W-2) income if you actively participate and your MAGI is under $100k (phasing out to $0 by $150k); unused losses carry forward. On sale, claimed depreciation is recaptured at up to 25%, and gains may owe capital-gains tax (a 1031 exchange can defer both). Figures are a year-1 estimate at your 24.0% rate — not tax advice; consult a CPA.

Schools (NCES district)

• District: Houston County
• NCES district ID: 0101770
• Math proficiency: 25% ▼ -33.00%
• Reading proficiency: 49% ▼ -1.00%
• Median HH income: $40,530
• Composite: 31.01/100
• National rank: #6092
• State rank: #38 of 129 in AL

Livability — Cottonwood

• Score: 67/100
• State rank: #82
• US rank: #10682

Category grades

Amenities F Commute F Cost of living A+ Crime B- Employment F Housing A Health & safety A+ User ratings A

Schools grade is shown separately in the Schools card above.

Census & demographics

• Census place: Cottonwood, AL
• City population: 3,137
• Population (ZIP): 3,137

Population outlook (Houston County) Hauer SSP2

• Today (2025): 110,280 people
• By 2030: 112,668 · +2.2%
• By 2040: 116,149 · +5.3%
• By 2050: 117,805 · +6.8%
• By 2075: 118,577 · +7.5%
• By 2100: 110,940 · +0.6%

Race, ethnicity, and origin ACS 2023

• Neighborhood character: Predominantly White (78%)
• Race & ethnicity: White 78% Black 14% Hispanic / Latino 4% Two or more races 3%
• Common ancestry: Iranian 2% Italian 2% Serbian 1%
• Foreign-born: 1% · Canada
• Languages at home: 97% English-only · Spanish 2%

Political lean MEDSL · Houston

• 2024 margin: Solid R (+47.8) · D 25.7% · R 73.5%
• 2008→2024 swing: -7.0pp toward R · 2008: -40.8pp · 2024: -47.8pp
• All cycles: 2024: R+47.8 2020: R+42.7 2016: R+47.6 2012: R+40.3 2008: R+40.8

Not yet ingested

• Civics: —

Market trends

• HPI YoY: ▼ -19.25%
• Current HPI: 160.737
• Rent YoY: —
• Metro: —
• State GDP YoY: ▲ 2.94%
• F500 in state: 4

Industry mix (Fortune 500 HQ in AL)

Industry	F500 HQs	Revenue
▸Financial Services	1	$8B
▸Healthcare	1	$5B

Price history

3 events — show timeline

• 2026-04-23 Pending — SAMLS
• 2026-04-23 Contingent — SAMLS
• 2026-04-16 Listed $169,900 SAMLS

Property tax history

+3.3%/yr

Latest (2025): $167 · +0.0% YoY. Source: county tax records.