140 Cottage Grove Rd

Blue Hills, CT 06002

$279,900D

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 966 sqft · Built 1955 · SingleFamily · Under Contract · 22 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,785/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,468
• Tax + insurance: −$554
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$585
• Net cashflow: $178/mo
• Annual: $2,137/yr
• Cap rate: 7.06%
• Cash-on-cash: 2.73%
• DSCR: 1.12
• 1% rule: 1.00%
• Cash to close: $78,372

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $280k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $178 ($2k/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 $279k (0.5% below list).
• It's been on market 22 days — a 2% lower offer ($276k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $276k (1.5% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $2k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $8k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 81/100 on livability (#14 in CT, #1,343 nationally) — a professional / high-income tenant draw. Strengths: crime A+, commute A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F.
• Bloomfield School District (suburban): math 16% / reading 30% proficiency, ranked #137 of 153 in CT (top 90%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Zoned schools: Laurel School (307 students, 67% FRL); Carmen Arace Middle School (math 19% / reading 30%, grade F, #153 of 175 statewide, top 88%, 246 students, 61% FRL); Bloomfield High School (math 17% / reading 47%, grade F, #129 of 194 statewide, top 69%, 525 students, 58% FRL) — zoned schools average 62% FRL vs 44% district-wide (17 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Watch-outs: built in 1955 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents rising (+3.1%/yr); 67 active listings in the ZIP; 7 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals lingering (median 46d on market — plan ~5-8 weeks vacancy on turnover, expect pricing pressure); 71% of comp listings sitting > 30 days — soft ceiling on asking rent; solid renter incomes; 1,867 units permitted in Capitol Planning Region in 2024 (1,399 in 5+ unit buildings).
• 5 sale attempts since 11y 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 $180k; list at $280k implies a 56% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 7.1% vs local median 4.7% in Blue Hills — 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.
• This rent runs 34% of the median local income ($98k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

Questions for listing agent

• Built in 1955 — 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 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.
• 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.