122 E Main St

Kingwood, WV 26537

$125,000D-

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 966 sqft · Built 1910 · SingleFamily · Active · 71 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $879/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$656
• Tax + insurance: −$118
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$185
• Net cashflow: $-78/mo
• Annual: $-940/yr
• Cap rate: 5.54%
• Cash-on-cash: -2.68%
• DSCR: 0.88
• 1% rule: 0.70%
• Cash to close: $35,000

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $125k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-78 ($-940/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $111k (11.1% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $88k (29.6% below list).
• It's been on market 71 days — a 6% lower offer ($118k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $88k (29.6% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $13k of equity ($864 loan paydown + $12k appreciation (10.0% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 65/100 on livability (#127 in WV) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A; Watch: employment D, amenities F, commute F.
• Preston County Schools (rural): math 22% / reading 33% proficiency, ranked #39 of 55 in WV (top 71%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Zoned schools: Kingwood Elementary (math 27% / reading 32%, grade F, #225 of 377 statewide, top 68%, 361 students, 0% FRL); Central Preston Middle School (math 19% / reading 42%, grade F, #57 of 109 statewide, top 52%, 322 students, 0% FRL); Preston High School (math 10% / reading 32%, grade F, #100 of 110 statewide, top 91%, 1,178 students, 0% FRL) — zoned schools average 0% FRL vs 43% district-wide (43 pts lower); this property's tenant base skews higher-income than the district average.
• Watch-outs: built in 1910 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 20 active listings in the ZIP; 2 units permitted in Preston County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Preston County population projected to shrink 5% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• Current owner paid $20k; list at $125k implies a 525% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (10.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $35k cash investment doubles in ~3 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• By year 3, 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?
• It's been on market 71 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 30% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1910 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• 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.
• 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.