4plex population 150

[Andrew Carlson]

I found an off market 4 plex built in 1920 or so. The guy wants $100,000 for it. He is willing to do seller financing. Two of the units are rented at $550/month. Those should be bumped to $600. The other two units are vacant and need about $5,000 each worth of work to get up and running, and should get $600/month. It probably needs a new roof in order to be financeable if I want to sell it after fixing it up. I got one quote of $20k for the roof. The exterior needs roughly $5,000 in general repair/landscaping. Supposedly he talked to a realtor that said it would be worth $200k once all 4 units are rented and it has a new roof (seems like a reasonable guestimate).

The kicker for me is that the town has a population of 150 people….that’s tiny. It has shrunk by about 40 people since the 2010 census.

I have looked on Zillow and single family houses seem to sell in the $130k-$180k range.

Not sure if I found a diamond in the rough, or a trash heap that should be avoided at all costs. What I’m wondering is, should the fact that this town is getting smaller steer me away from this deal? Or should I just stop worrying and go for it?