30–32 Dewey Road
30–32 Dewey Rd, Shrewsbury, MA 01545·Multi-Family — 3 Family·Built 1916·2,000 sf
Three-family in Shrewsbury with $800/mo of below-market rent — underwritten honestly, and it does not clear at list.
Pass at list price — reprice or walk
Stabilized NOI does not cover debt service at 75% leverage, so this does not clear our 1.20x DSCR minimum, and the preferred return would accrue rather than pay from day one. The property is worth owning at the right basis: the underwriting below solves for what that basis actually is. Published as a screened deal because showing the passes is what makes the buys credible.
The numbers at a glance
Purchase price
$729,900
At list
Investors bring
$302,172
incl. $30,217 sponsor co-invest
Loan applied for
$547,400
75% LTV · 7.75% DSCR
Minimum investment
$50,000
5-year target hold
Stabilized NOI
$32,968
4.52% cap on price
Stabilized DSCR
0.70x
Lender requires 1.20x
Projected equity multiple
0.36x
over 5 years
Projected investor IRR
-18.6%
0.0% avg cash-on-cash
1% rule
0.79%monthly rent ÷ price
Investors typically want 1.00% or better. Gross rent multiple 10.5x.
Breakeven occupancy
115%
Above 100% — the property cannot cover expenses and debt even fully leased.
Reserve adequacy
Short
$25,000 budgeted against $68,619 of projected operating shortfall.
The thesis
Shrewsbury is a Route 9 commuter town next to UMass Memorial, with steady tenant demand from hospital staff and Worcester-area professionals. Three-family stock at this price point rarely comes with nine off-street parking spaces and a garage.
The rent roll is genuinely below market. Unit 1 at $1,400 and Unit 2 at $1,900 are each $300–350 under what comparable Shrewsbury units achieve, and Unit 3 — renovated in 2022 — is still $150 light. Stabilized, that is roughly $9,600 a year of recoverable revenue.
The capital story is unusually clean for 1916 vintage: electrical panel, windows, doors and garage door all replaced in 2020, and one of three units fully renovated in 2022. The remaining work is two unit turns, not a systems overhaul.
None of that is enough. At $729,900 the property capitalizes below 5% against a 7.75% DSCR coupon — the definition of negative leverage. The strategy is to bid the price down to where the rent supports the debt, not to underwrite the rent up to justify the price.
The full underwriting
Sources & uses
Every dollar going in, and where it comes from. Investor equity is the balancing figure — it is what is left after the loan.
| Use of funds | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | $729,900 | — |
| Closing costs, title & transfer | $14,600 | ~2.0% of purchase price |
| Renovation — Unit 1 & 2 turns | $38,000 | Kitchens, baths, flooring, paint on the two untouched units |
| Lead paint de-leading & compliance | $22,000 | 1916 construction, lead status unknown — MA de-leading required for any tenant with a child under 6 |
| Operating & capital reserve | $25,000 | ~6 months of debt service and operating shortfall |
| Loan origination | $5,474 | 1.0% of loan |
| Acquisition fee (sponsor) | $14,598 | 2.0% of purchase price |
| Total capitalization | $849,572 | |
| Source of funds | Amount | Share |
| Senior debtDSCR · 7.75% · 30-yr am | $547,400 | 75.0% LTV · 64.4% LTC |
| Investor (LP) equity | $271,955 | 32.0% of capitalization |
| Sponsor co-investmentskin in the game | $30,217 | 10% of equity |
| Total sources | $849,572 |
Investors bring $302,172 to the table — of which $30,217 is the sponsor's own money. Minimum investment is $50,000, so this raise is roughly 6 investors at the minimum.
Rent roll & rent estimate
In-place rent is what the tenants pay today. Market rent is our estimate once the unit is turned and repriced — the gap is the whole business plan.
| Unit | Beds / baths | In-place | Market est. | Lift | Lease |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1~620 sf | 1 bd / 1 ba | $1,400 | $1,700 | +$300 | Written lease |
| Unit 2~760 sf | 2 bd / 1 ba | $1,900 | $2,250 | +$350 | Written lease |
| Unit 3~620 sf | 1 bd / 1 ba | $1,700 | $1,850 | +$150 | Tenant at will |
| Total / month | $5,000 | $5,800 | +$800 | ||
| Total / year | $60,000 | $69,600 | +$9,600 |
Unit 1: Electric heat, wall-to-wall carpet, tiled kitchen. Shared laundry sits in the back portion of this unit — a real deduction on rent and a privacy issue to solve.
Unit 2: Gas heat, hardwood floors, tiled kitchen and bath, sunroom. Listing flags this unit as the value-add: it is the one that has not been touched.
Unit 3: Fully renovated 2022 — granite counters, hardwood and laminate, walk-in closets. No written lease, so this unit is tenant-at-will: fastest to reprice, and the first to leave.
Stabilized operating statement
Year 2 — the first full year at market rents, in today's dollars. No rent growth is borrowed to make this year look better.
| Gross potential rent | $69,600 | All units at estimated market rent |
| Vacancy & credit loss | ($3,480) | 5% of GPR |
| Effective gross income | $66,120 | |
| Property taxes | ($7,725) | FY2025 actual was $5,430 on a $451,000 assessment. Set at $7,500 in year 1 to absorb reassessment drift toward the sale price, then inflated with every other fixed cost. |
| Insurance | ($3,708) | 3-family landlord policy, 1916 frame construction |
| Water & sewer | ($3,090) | Owner-paid — all three leases include water |
| Repairs & maintenance | ($4,872) | 7% of gross potential rent |
| Capital reserve | ($3,480) | 5% of gross potential rent |
| Landscaping, snow & trash | ($2,472) | — |
| Legal, accounting & entity admin | ($1,854) | — |
| Property management | ($5,290) | 8.0% of EGI |
| Asset management fee (sponsor) | ($661) | 1.0% of EGI |
| Total operating expenses | ($33,152) | 50.1% of EGI |
| Net operating income | $32,968 | 4.52% cap on purchase price |
5-year cash flow projection
Rent grows 3% a year from year 3; expenses grow 3%. Negative cash flow means the deal is consuming reserves, not paying investors.
| Year | EGI | Op. expenses | NOI | Debt service | Cash flow | DSCR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $60,040 | ($31,288) | $28,752 | ($47,060) | ($18,307) | 0.61x |
| Year 2 | $66,120 | ($33,152) | $32,968 | ($47,060) | ($14,091) | 0.70x |
| Year 3 | $68,104 | ($34,146) | $33,957 | ($47,060) | ($13,102) | 0.72x |
| Year 4 | $70,147 | ($35,171) | $34,976 | ($47,060) | ($12,084) | 0.74x |
| Year 5 | $72,251 | ($36,226) | $36,025 | ($47,060) | ($11,034) | 0.77x |
Exit assumptions — year 5
Sale priced by capitalizing year 6 NOI at a 5.5% cap rate.
| Forward NOI (year 6) | $37,106 |
| Gross sale priceat 5.5% exit cap | $674,655 |
| Cost of sale | ($40,479) |
| Disposition fee (sponsor) | ($6,747) |
| Loan payoff | ($519,197) |
| Net proceeds to partnership | $108,232 |
Distribution waterfall
8% preferred return to investors first (accrues if unpaid), then 70% / 30% investor / sponsor on everything above it.
| Year | Cash available | Pref due | Pref paid | Unpaid pref carried | To investors | To sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $0 | $24,174 | $0 | $24,174 | $0 | $0 |
| Year 2 | $0 | $48,348 | $0 | $48,348 | $0 | $0 |
| Year 3 | $0 | $72,521 | $0 | $72,521 | $0 | $0 |
| Year 4 | $0 | $96,695 | $0 | $96,695 | $0 | $0 |
| Year 5 | $0 | $120,869 | $0 | $120,869 | $0 | $0 |
| Exit | $108,232 | $0 | $97,409 | $10,823 |
Investor capital in
$271,955
Total distributions
$97,409
Equity multiple / IRR
0.36x-18.6%
How fees are charged and distributed
Every form of sponsor compensation on this deal. If it is charged, it is on this table.
| Fee | Rate | On this deal | When | Paid out of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquisition fee | 2.0% of purchase price | $14,598 | Once, at closing | The equity raise — it is a line item in sources & uses above. |
| Asset management fee | 1.0% of effective gross income | $3,367 over the hold* | Annually, while we own it | Operating revenue, before cash flow reaches investors. It is inside NOI, not a separate charge. |
| Disposition fee | 1.0% of gross sale price | $6,747 | Once, at sale | Sale proceeds, before the loan is repaid and capital is returned. |
| Promote / carried interest | 30% of profits above the 8% preferred return | Nothing on this underwriting | Only after investors receive their pref | Profit only. If the deal never clears the preferred return, this pays nothing. |
| Property management | 8.0% of effective gross income | Third party | Monthly | Operating revenue. This goes to a third-party manager, not to the sponsor. |
Sponsor co-investment. We put $30,217 of our own capital in alongside you — 10% of the equity. Our co-invest sits in the same position as yours and earns the same preferred return; it is not a separate class.
Order of payment. Operating cash flow pays the 8% preferred return first. If there is not enough cash in a given year, the shortfall accrues and must be paid before the sponsor sees any profit split. At sale, proceeds repay capital, then accrued preferred return, then split 70% / 30%.
* Asset management total is the modelled figure across the 5-year hold and moves with actual revenue. Fee figures shown here are calculated from this deal's underwriting and are illustrative; the operating agreement and private placement memorandum govern in all cases.
What would have to change
The price this property actually supports
Max price at 1.20x DSCR
$426,116
$303,784 below the $729,900 we underwrote — a 42% reduction, holding leverage constant.
Max loan at this price
$319,573
Against the $547,400 contemplated. Financing the gap with equity pushes the raise to roughly $529,999 and kills the return.
Assessed value
$451,000
Town assessment for 2025. Not an appraisal, but a useful sanity check against the ask.
This is the number that turns a pro-forma into a bidding instruction. We would rather show you the price at which we would buy this building than dress up the price at which we would not.
Risks, and what we would do about them
Written before the deal is funded, not after something goes wrong.
Legal use as a three-family is unverified
high severityThe listing states the property is "currently configured as three units" and puts verification on the buyer, in a RES B- zone. If the third unit is not legally permitted, both the rent roll and the financing assumption collapse. Municipal zoning and occupancy sign-off is a hard contingency before any deposit goes hard.
Lead paint status unknown on a 1916 building
high severityMassachusetts requires de-leading for any unit occupied by a child under six, and refusing to rent to families with children is illegal. $22,000 is carried in the budget; an inspection before the contingency date sizes the real number.
Basement wall construction is undisclosed
medium severityThe seller explicitly discloses uncertainty about the basement wall construction type. Structural inspection is a contingency; a foundation issue on a 1916 frame building is a walk-away, not a credit.
Unit 3 has no written lease
medium severityThe best unit is tenant-at-will. That cuts both ways: it is the fastest to bring to market rent, and the most likely to go vacant on our timetable rather than ours. Estoppel certificates at diligence.
MLS unit detail is internally inconsistent
low severityThe listing totals three full baths but the unit-level detail sums to four. Underwritten at the conservative total of three. Confirmed by inspection and appraisal.
Owner pays water on all three units
low severityEvery lease includes water, so consumption risk sits with ownership. Sub-metering is not economic on three units; the $3,000 line is underwritten at full cost with no recovery assumed.
Property detail
- Address
- 30–32 Dewey Rd, Shrewsbury, MA 01545
- County
- Worcester
- Type
- Multi-Family — 3 Family
- Units
- 3
- Year built
- 1916
- Living area
- 2,000 sf
- Lot
- 0.19 acres
- Parking
- 9 spaces
- MLS #
- 73489404
- List price
- $729,900
- Assessed value
- $451,000
- Property tax (2025)
- $5,430
- Holding entity
- NB Dewey Road Partners LLC
- Underwritten
- 2026-08-05
Property facts, rent roll and tax data from MLS #73489404 (MLS Property Information Network). Listed 3/19/2026 at $750,000, temporarily withdrawn 3/27/2026, returned to market 7/24/2026 at $729,900. Rent, expense and exit assumptions are ours.
Follow this deal
This one did not clear at list price. Tell us you are interested and we will bring you the next deal that does — with the same math, shown the same way.