1849 E Minnesota St, Indianapolis, IN, 46203
Condition Notes
Both units show a light, fairly recent refresh in the listing photos — wood-look flooring, updated gray shaker cabinets, and clean paint throughout. This isn't a rehab project; it's a cosmetically ready duplex with one real disclosed item to plan for. The seller's disclosure flags an active roof leak with present damage (age unknown), which is the one line item driving my repair number. The water heater and furnace are original-age and unknown-condition, so I've included a modest reserve there too. Everything else on the disclosure — foundation, structure, moisture, termite damage — comes back clean. I'd still get a full inspection before you close, the way I would on any investment purchase, but nothing here points to a heavy-rehab scope.
Strategy Comparison
This one is carried by income, not a big value gap — at the $139,900 ask there isn't much forced equity, so the strategy comparison is what actually decides this deal. Short-term rental is the strongest number I'm showing you here: licensed STR is legal on this block, and running both sides as furnished short-term units clears a healthy cash-on-cash return even on a conservative nightly rate. Furnished mid-term rental is a solid, lower-effort alternative. Long-term rental is real but thin at the full asking price — the existing $700/mo lease on one side proves there's genuine tenant demand here, and every hold strategy gets meaningfully stronger at the offer I'm recommending below. BRRRR doesn't add much beyond a standard purchase — the ARV isn't far enough above the all-in cost to unlock real leverage from a refinance. And a flip doesn't work at any price I can get you to — the market ceiling here is too close to the all-in cost once you count selling and financing costs, so I'm not showing it to you as a real option.
LTR — blended actual + market rent
At the full ask, this is real but thin — $58/mo isn't a story I'd lead with, even though the in-place $700/mo lease proves the demand is genuine. It's a different property at my recommended $107,500 offer: cash flow more than triples to roughly $235/mo and cash-on-cash clears 7.8%, which is why I'd rather negotiate than pay the full ask if long-term rental is your preferred hold.
MTR — furnished mid-term rental (both units)
A solid middle-ground play — better cash flow than long-term rental without the nightly-turnover workload of short-term. It leans on a furnished-rate estimate rather than a hard local comp, so I'd treat it as directionally right rather than precise. At my recommended offer it's a clean 9%+ cash-on-cash story.
STR — short-term rental (both units)
This is the strongest number in the group, and it's legal here — Marion County licenses short-term rentals for non-owner-occupants, and I don't see an HOA or zoning overlay blocking it on this lot. The nightly rate is a conservative, modeled estimate rather than a rate I've pulled from a directly comparable listing, so I'd want you to sanity-check it against a couple of similar-sized active listings nearby before you lean on this number hard. Running both sides as short-term also means more hands-on management than a standard rental — factor that into whether this is the right fit for how involved you want to be.
BRRRR — cash-out refinance at ARV
The refinance only recycles about two-thirds of your capital at the full ask — the ARV isn't far enough above the all-in cost for this to outperform a standard purchase loan. It improves at my recommended offer (77% of capital recycled), but even then the post-refi cash flow stays modest. I'd treat this as a financing structure to consider only if you specifically want your capital back out fast, not as the reason to buy this property.
Comps
Sale Comps
True duplex-to-duplex sold comps at this exact size are scarce, so I'm leaning on the closest active comp with an identical unit mix, a recent sold comp for a per-sqft anchor, and a blended automated valuation range. The direct duplex comp's soft days-on-market at a lower price kept my $142,000 ARV toward the conservative side of what the automated range alone would suggest.
Rent Comps
The comps bracket the actual $700/mo in-place lease nicely on the low end, with the Shelby St unit showing what a more central location commands. I used $725/mo for the vacant side — a small step above the current lease, in line with where these comps land for a similar-sized unit off the core.
The Numbers
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This analysis is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. All figures are estimates based on available data and independent research at the time of preparation; they are not guaranteed and should be independently verified before making any purchase decision. Consult your own financial, legal, and tax advisors before acting on this information.