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/section8-analyzer - Address of the property

🏠 Section 8 Property Analysis — 4026 W 141st St, Carmel, IN 46074

Analysis date: July 6, 2026 • Investment rate: 7.5% (Bankrate/NerdWallet primary ~6.4–6.6% + ~1% investor premium, July 5–6 2026) • 25% down / 75% financed

Verdict: 🔴 HARD PASS

This one fails before the cash-flow math even matters: it's a 186-year-old home (built 1840) designated a contributing structure on Carmel's Historic Architecture Survey, sold AS-IS/cash-or-rehab-financing-only, at 3,084 sq ft — roughly double the size target for a low-maintenance Section 8 unit. Even setting all of that aside, at today's 7.5% investment rate the deal runs -$1,023/mo, about $155K above its breakeven price of $244K.

| | | |---|---| | Net Monthly Cash Flow | -$1,023/mo | | Cash-on-Cash Return | -12.3% | | Total Cash Required to Close | ~$170,000 | | Breakeven Price | $244,350 (listing is $155,550 over breakeven) |

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Quick Scorecard

| Check | Result | |---|---| | State & City Landlord-Friendliness | ✅ Indiana — landlord-friendly, no rent control, ~3–6 week eviction; Carmel/Hamilton County cannot pass a local SOI ordinance (state law HB 1300 preempts it) | | PHA Operational Reputation | ⚠️ Noblesville Housing Authority — small program (~200 vouchers), no landlord complaint pattern found, but also very little public track record either way. Unknown/Neutral. | | Property Condition | ❌ Heavy Rehab — AS-IS, cash/rehab-financing only, historic-ordinance restricted | | Crime Risk | ✅ Low — Carmel is one of the safest cities in Indiana for its size |

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📍 Property Details

| | | |---|---| | Price | $399,900 (not a pass/fail filter alone — but judged against breakeven below, it's decisive) | | Year Built | 1840 — 110 years past the HQS lead-paint/knob-and-tube risk cutoff | | Square Footage | 3,084 sqft (target: under 1,500 sqft) | | Units | SFH, 5BR / 3 full + 1 half bath | | Lot | 0.43 acres, no HOA, private well, no municipal sewer connection noted |

🔧 Condition Assessment

| | | |---|---| | Source | Description only (no listing photos provided) | | Rating | Heavy Rehab | | Evidence | Listed "AS-IS," qualifies only for rehab or cash financing; carpet already removed; water shut off; buyer responsible for water/sewer hookup costs | | HQS Risk Flags | Pre-1950 construction (lead paint / knob-and-tube risk), historic-structure exterior alteration restrictions (Ordinance D-2338-16), no active water service, private well/septic uncertainty | | Rehab Budget (HQS-adjusted, +15–25%) | $30,000–$60,000+ — and the historic designation means exterior repairs (roof, siding, windows) may require approval that a standard rehab wouldn't, which can meaningfully slow down reaching HQS-passable condition |

The historic contributing-structure designation is its own separate red flag beyond condition: any exterior work needed to pass HQS inspection (siding, roofing, window replacement) may need to follow the preservation ordinance's guidelines rather than whatever's cheapest/fastest — a real timeline and cost risk on top of the rehab budget itself.

🚨 Crime Assessment

| | | |---|---| | Source | NeighborhoodScout + CrimeGrade.org | | Finding | ✅ Low | | Notable crime types | Overall crime rate roughly 50–70% below national average; violent crime rate especially low (1 in 1,400–1,500 odds of victimization) |

Carmel is genuinely one of the safer places in Indiana — this is the one part of the analysis that's a clear positive, though it's also a signal of mismatch: affluent, low-poverty suburbs like Carmel are atypical Section 8 markets to begin with.

💵 HUD Fair Market Rent

| Unit | Bedroom Size | FMR | Utility Allowance | Net Rent | |---|---|---|---|---| | Single unit | 5BR | $2,445 (est.)* | -$100 | $2,345 |

*Hamilton County published FMRs cap at 4BR ($2,126); 5BR is estimated using HUD's standard +15%/bedroom extrapolation. County/PHA: Noblesville Housing Authority • SAFMR: not confirmed to apply in Hamilton County (advisory SAFMRs are used in Indianapolis/Marion County, not confirmed here) — treat this FMR as an estimate to verify directly with NHA before offering.

📊 Cash Flow Projection

| Income | Monthly | |---|---| | Total gross rent (net of utility allowance) | +$2,345 |

| Expenses | Monthly | |---|---| | Mortgage P&I | -$2,097 | | Property Tax (Hamilton Co., non-homestead est. 1.6%) | -$533 | | Insurance (older home, historic, private well — above baseline) | -$175 | | Mgmt (9%) + Reserves (15%) | -$563 | | Total Expenses | -$3,368 |

| | | |---|---| | Net Monthly Cash Flow | -$1,023 | | Net Annual Cash Flow | -$12,277 | | Cap Rate | 3.2% | | Cash-on-Cash Return | -12.3% | | GRM | 14.2x | | 1% Rule | 0.59% (well under 0.8% target) |

📈 Rate Sensitivity

| Rate | Monthly Cash Flow | |---|---| | 6.5% | -$822 | | 7.0% | -$921 | | 7.5% (current) | -$1,023 | | 8.0% | -$1,127 |

Even a full point of rate improvement doesn't get this anywhere close to breakeven — the gap is structural (price vs. FMR-capped rent), not rate-driven.

💰 Total Cash Required to Close

| | | |---|---| | Down Payment (25%) | $99,975 | | Rehab Budget (HQS-adjusted, high end) | $60,000 | | Ramp-Up Reserve (3 mo) | $10,104 | | Total Cash Needed | ~$170,000 |

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Bottom line: this property fails on almost every axis at once — pre-1950 construction, historic-preservation rehab constraints, AS-IS/cash-only condition, 2x the target square footage, and a 5BR SFH in an affluent low-Section-8-demand suburb, all on top of a cash flow that's over $1,000/mo underwater at today's rates. There's no lever here (rate, negotiation, rehab discount) that closes a $155K breakeven gap. Recommend passing and redirecting search effort toward smaller, newer, cheaper stock — this is the opposite profile of what tends to work for Section 8 (per your earlier Indianapolis/Memphis analysis).

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