5921 Brookside Dr SE

Smyrna, GA 30126

$309,000D

3 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,736 sqft · Built 1989 · SingleFamily · Pending · 175 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,561/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,620
• Tax + insurance: −$436
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$538
• Net cashflow: $-33/mo
• Annual: $-394/yr
• Cap rate: 6.17%
• Cash-on-cash: -0.46%
• DSCR: 0.98
• 1% rule: 0.83%
• Cash to close: $86,520

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $309k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-33 ($-394/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $303k (1.9% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $256k (17.1% below list).
• It's been on market 175 days — a 12% lower offer ($272k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $256k (17.1% 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 $9k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 76/100 on livability (#27 in GA, #3,621 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: housing A+, employment A, commute A-; Watch: cost of living C-, amenities F.
• Cobb County (suburban): math 39% / reading 45% proficiency, ranked #25 of 174 in GA (top 14%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Clay-Harmony Leland Elementary School (math 20% / reading 25%, grade F, #803 of 1,228 statewide, top 66%, 939 students, 67% FRL); Lindley Middle School (math 15% / reading 22%, grade F, #372 of 470 statewide, top 80%, 1,096 students, 82% FRL); Pebblebrook High School (math 23% / reading 30%, grade F, #171 of 424 statewide, top 41%, 2,511 students, 70% FRL) — zoned schools average 73% FRL vs 39% district-wide (34 pts higher); higher-poverty schools than district average — tighter screening recommended.
• Zoned-school proficiency averages 22% at this address vs 42% district-wide (-20 pts) — the specific schools serving this property underperform the Cobb County average; the district grade overstates school quality for this exact location.
• Market conditions: Rents rising (+3.7%/yr); 405 active listings in the ZIP; 16 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals at typical pace (median 20d on market — plan ~3-4 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); solid renter incomes; 1,625 units permitted in Cobb County in 2024 (389 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Cobb County population projected at +33% by 2050 — long-run rental-demand tailwind backs the buy-and-hold thesis.
• 3 sale attempts 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 $80k; list at $309k implies a 289% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Climate carrying-cost: extreme-heat days projected 7→19/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.
• Cap rate 6.2% vs local median 3.5% in Smyrna — 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 30% of the median local income ($102k/yr) — at the standard rent-burdened threshold; future hikes will face affordability resistance.

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 175 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 17% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• 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.
• 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.