183 Fern

Terra Alta, WV 26764

$299,000D

2 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,374 sqft · Built 2003 · SingleFamily · Active · 86 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $2,146/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$1,568
• Tax + insurance: −$206
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$451
• Net cashflow: $-79/mo
• Annual: $-949/yr
• Cap rate: 5.98%
• Cash-on-cash: -1.13%
• DSCR: 0.95
• 1% rule: 0.72%
• Cash to close: $83,720

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $299k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-79 ($-949/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $285k (4.7% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $215k (28.2% below list).
• It's been on market 86 days — a 6% lower offer ($281k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $215k (28.2% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $7k of equity ($2k loan paydown + $5k appreciation (1.7% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 61/100 on livability (#196 in WV) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F, employment 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: Terra Alta/East Preston School (math 20% / reading 29%, grade F, #287 of 377 statewide, top 85%, 310 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.
• Market conditions: 97 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.
• 2 sale attempts since 4y ago; this cycle's ask has dropped $16k (5%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.
• At projected returns (1.7% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $84k cash investment doubles in ~9 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• By year 5, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$32k 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 86 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 28% 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.
• 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.