412 SE Ewing St

Grimes, IA 50111

$264,999D

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,648 sqft · Built 1900 · SingleFamily · Active · 48 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,023/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,390
• Tax + insurance: −$353
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$425
• Net cashflow: $-145/mo
• Annual: $-1,737/yr
• Cap rate: 5.64%
• Cash-on-cash: -2.34%
• DSCR: 0.90
• 1% rule: 0.76%
• Cash to close: $74,200

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $265k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-145 ($-2k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $239k (9.7% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $202k (23.7% below list).
• It's been on market 48 days — a 3% lower offer ($257k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $202k (23.7% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• 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 79/100 on livability (#106 in IA, #2,080 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, employment A+, cost of living A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F.
• Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District (rural): math 78% / reading 82% proficiency, ranked #19 of 289 in IA (top 7%) — strong family-tenant draw, lease renewals of 3-5y typical; only 12% free/reduced lunch — higher-income household profile.
• Zoned schools: South Prairie Elementary (math 74% / reading 76%, grade A, #128 of 616 statewide, top 21%, 452 students, 24% FRL); Dallas Center-Grimes Middle School (math 79% / reading 81%, grade A+, #32 of 246 statewide, top 13%, 527 students, 19% FRL); Dallas Center-Grimes High School (math 73% / reading 82%, grade A-, #56 of 336 statewide, top 17%, 978 students, 18% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1900 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: Rents flat; 329 active listings in the ZIP; 11 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals at typical pace (median 16d on market — plan ~3-4 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); high-income renter base; 2,953 units permitted in Polk County in 2024 (540 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Polk County population projected at +37% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 2 sale attempts; this cycle's ask has dropped $25k (9%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• Current owner paid $170k; list at $265k implies a 56% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 5.6% vs local median 2.3% in Grimes — 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

• 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?
• It's been on market 48 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 24% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• 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 A-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.
• 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.