54 Gainsville Rd
54 Gainsville Rd, Dedham, MA 02026·Single Family — Detached Colonial·Built 1900·1,400 sf
Highest price of this trio for the weakest DSCR coverage.
Pass — price outruns the rent
Weakest DSCR coverage of the three screened this round. Would need a well-below-list purchase price, not just favorable financing, to have a realistic path to clearing.
The numbers at a glance
Purchase price
$719,900
At list
Investors bring
$522,288
incl. $52,229 sponsor co-invest
Loan applied for
$251,439
35% LTV · 8% DSCR
Minimum investment
$50,000
5-year target hold
Stabilized NOI
$16,565
2.30% cap on price
Stabilized DSCR
0.75x
Lender requires 1.15x
Projected equity multiple
0.15x
over 5 years
Projected investor IRR
-32.0%
0.0% avg cash-on-cash
1% rule
0.45%monthly rent ÷ price
Investors typically want 1.00% or better. Gross rent multiple 18.6x.
Breakeven occupancy
109%
Above 100% — the property cannot cover expenses and debt even fully leased.
Reserve adequacy
Short
$20,000 budgeted against $26,854 of projected operating shortfall.
The thesis
Highest price of the three MLSPIN candidates screened this round, and the weakest DSCR coverage of the trio despite a mid-pack 5.4% gross yield — the price simply outruns the rent. Built 1900, 3BR/2BA, newer roof and deck per the listing; no HOA.
At an estimated $3,226/mo it prices to a 0.72x lender DSCR (0.50x investor test) and −11.2% cash-on-cash at 25% down. A single-family at this price point needs a meaningfully below-list purchase to have a path to clearing.
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 | $719,900 | — |
| Closing costs, title & transfer | $14,400 | ~2.0% of purchase price |
| Operating & capital reserve | $20,000 | ~6 months of debt service and operating shortfall |
| Loan origination | $5,029 | 2.0% of loan |
| Acquisition fee (sponsor) | $14,398 | 2.0% of purchase price |
| Total capitalization | $773,727 | |
| Source of funds | Amount | Share |
| Senior debtDSCR · 8% · 30-yr am | $251,439 | 34.9% LTV · 32.5% LTC |
| Investor (LP) equity | $470,059 | 60.8% of capitalization |
| Sponsor co-investmentskin in the game | $52,229 | 10% of equity |
| Total sources | $773,727 |
Investors bring $522,288 to the table — of which $52,229 is the sponsor's own money. Minimum investment is $50,000, so this raise is roughly 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole house~1,400 sf | 3 bd / 2 ba | $0 | $3,226 | +$3,226 | Tenant at will |
| Total / month | $0 | $3,226 | +$3,226 | ||
| Total / year | $0 | $38,712 | +$38,712 |
Whole house: Market rent is Dedham’s Zillow ZORI typical rent (town-wide average), not a comp pulled for this specific house — directional only.
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 | $38,712 | All units at estimated market rent |
| Vacancy & credit loss | ($1,936) | 5% of GPR |
| Effective gross income | $36,776 | |
| Property taxes | ($8,161) | Actual FY2025 tax bill, MLS #73559899 (Assessed $627,800). |
| Insurance | ($3,708) | MA statewide-typical 0.5% of price. No landlord policy quote obtained. |
| Repairs & maintenance | ($3,097) | — |
| Capital reserve | ($1,936) | — |
| Property management | ($2,942) | 8.0% of EGI |
| Asset management fee (sponsor) | ($368) | 1.0% of EGI |
| Total operating expenses | ($20,211) | 55.0% of EGI |
| Net operating income | $16,565 | 2.30% 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 | $33,712 | ($19,170) | $14,541 | ($22,140) | ($7,598) | 0.66x |
| Year 2 | $36,776 | ($20,211) | $16,565 | ($22,140) | ($5,574) | 0.75x |
| Year 3 | $37,880 | ($20,817) | $17,062 | ($22,140) | ($5,077) | 0.77x |
| Year 4 | $39,016 | ($21,442) | $17,574 | ($22,140) | ($4,566) | 0.79x |
| Year 5 | $40,187 | ($22,085) | $18,101 | ($22,140) | ($4,038) | 0.82x |
Exit assumptions — year 5
Sale priced by capitalizing year 6 NOI at a 5.5% cap rate.
| Forward NOI (year 6) | $18,644 |
| Gross sale priceat 5.5% exit cap | $338,988 |
| Cost of sale | ($20,339) |
| Disposition fee (sponsor) | ($3,390) |
| Loan payoff | ($239,043) |
| Net proceeds to partnership | $76,217 |
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 | $41,783 | $0 | $41,783 | $0 | $0 |
| Year 2 | $0 | $83,566 | $0 | $83,566 | $0 | $0 |
| Year 3 | $0 | $125,349 | $0 | $125,349 | $0 | $0 |
| Year 4 | $0 | $167,132 | $0 | $167,132 | $0 | $0 |
| Year 5 | $0 | $208,915 | $0 | $208,915 | $0 | $0 |
| Exit | $76,217 | $0 | $68,595 | $7,622 |
Investor capital in
$470,059
Total distributions
$68,595
Equity multiple / IRR
0.15x-32.0%
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 | $14,398 | Once, at closing | The equity raise — it is a line item in sources & uses above. |
| Asset management fee | 1.0% of effective gross income | $1,876 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 | $3,390 | 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 $52,229 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 1.15x DSCR
$468,384
$251,516 below the $719,900 we underwrote — a 35% reduction, holding leverage constant.
Max loan at this price
$163,592
Against the $251,439 contemplated. Financing the gap with equity pushes the raise to roughly $610,135 and kills the return.
Assessed value
$627,800
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.
Market rent is a town-wide average, not a comp for this house
high severityPull 3–5 comparable rented 3-bed Dedham single-families before underwriting further.
Sump pump in basement; two cracked windows; front stairs built over dated stone
medium severityPer seller disclosure: no water issues reported since seller's ownership, and a termite stake system with a yearly treatment plan is in place. Confirmed by inspection before any offer.
Insurance is a statewide-typical estimate
medium severityPull a real landlord-policy quote; tax figure below is the actual FY2025 bill.
Sourced from a buyer-alert digest plus one MLS pull, not a showing
medium severityNo interior condition beyond listing photos and remarks; a showing comes before any offer.
Property detail
- Address
- 54 Gainsville Rd, Dedham, MA 02026
- County
- Norfolk
- Type
- Single Family — Detached Colonial
- Units
- 1
- Year built
- 1900
- Living area
- 1,400 sf
- Lot
- 0.17 acres
- Parking
- 4 spaces
- MLS #
- 73559899
- List price
- $719,900
- Assessed value
- $627,800
- Property tax (2025)
- $7,923
- Holding entity
- NB Gainsville Road Partners LLC
- Underwritten
- 2026-08-06
MLSPIN buyer-alert digest, Aug 6 2026, plus a direct MLS pull — MLS #73559899. Property facts, tax and disclosures from the MLS sheet. Rent is Zillow ZORI typical rent for Dedham as of 2026-06-30, not a comp for this house. Insurance is a statewide-typical 0.5%-of-price estimate. Screened via Namaste’s DSCR tool (rental-deal-simulator repo, dscr.py) on 2026-08-06 at 25% down conventional and against the in-house 1.15x DSCR program tier.
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.