1001 N 5th St

Grand Forks, ND 58203

$385,000C+

9 bd · 3.9 ba · 2,292 sqft · Built 1998 · MultiFamily · Pending · 230 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $4,528/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$2,019
• Tax + insurance: −$642
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$951
• Net cashflow: $916/mo
• Annual: $10,998/yr
• Cap rate: 9.15%
• Cash-on-cash: 10.20%
• DSCR: 1.45
• 1% rule: 1.18%
• Cash to close: $107,800

Investor read

• This is a 3 × 3-bed/1.3-bath units multifamily listed at $385k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $916 ($11k/yr) — positive. Per door: $305/mo.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($5k rent vs $385k).
• It's been on market 230 days — a 12% lower offer ($339k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $339k (12.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $3k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $12k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 78/100 on livability (#8 in ND, #2,645 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, health & safety A+; Watch: employment C-, crime D+.
• Grand Forks 1 (urban): math 37% / reading 49% proficiency, ranked #27 of 53 in ND (top 51%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Market conditions: Rents rising fast (+6.0%/yr); 56 active listings in the ZIP; 133 units permitted in Grand Forks County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Grand Forks County population projected at +43% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 6.0% rent growth), your $108k cash investment doubles in ~8 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 9.1% vs local median 2.2% in Grand Forks — 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.
• At $4,528/mo this rent would consume 90% of the median local household income ($60k/yr) (locally 1031% of renters already pay >50% of income on rent) — very limited rent-growth headroom before tenants either downsize or default.

Questions for listing agent

• It's been on market 230 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 12% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Can we see the unit-by-unit rent roll, current vacancy, and any below-market leases? What's the average tenancy length?
• What capital expenditures (roof, boiler, parking lot, exteriors) have been made in the last 5 years, and what's planned in the next 2?
• 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 B-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?
• Crime grade is D in this area — have there been break-ins, vandalism, or insurance claims at this property in the last 3 years? What carrier currently insures it and at what premium?
• 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.