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Which property does the headline refer to?
The strongest public match is 2636 Ethel Avenue, an Indianapolis single-family residence. Coldwell Banker’s MLS-distributed page and a RateMyAgent reproduction use the marketing language “9-bed, 4-bath” and describe the home as rented by the room. Zillow’s property record also shows nine bedrooms and four bathrooms, with a 1957 construction year.
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That identification is probable rather than proven because the headline gives no address. Anyone evaluating the deal should match the parcel, legal owner, leases and municipal records before relying on the figures below.
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Four bathrooms are consistent in the relevant records. The bedroom count is not: Coldwell Banker’s structured fields show eight bedrooms while its marketing description says nine, and other records repeat both versions. The difference could reflect a room that is not legally counted as a bedroom, a data-entry error or a change in how the property was configured. It should be resolved with the assessor’s record, floor plan and inspection—not inferred from advertising language.
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| Source and date | Bedrooms | Bathrooms | Rent or occupancy claim | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coldwell Banker/MIBOR listing, updated April 14, 2026 | 8 in structured fields; 9 in marketing copy | 4 | $4,950 monthly rental income advertised; rented by the room | Marketing claim, not an audited operating statement |
| Zillow property record and MLS history | 9 | 4 | No reconciled rent roll | Property and transaction-history reference; does not settle legal bedroom status |
| Roots Realty Co., reporting an ownership-provided November 2025 rent roll | Eight rentable rooms | Not stated | All eight rooms occupied; $4,900 per month | Attributed rent-roll report, not an independent audit |
| Investor overview PDF, circa 2026 | Not reliably established | Not reliably established | Full occupancy and $5,850 monthly gross rent claimed | Document claim with unclear authorship and underlying records |
These amounts are gross or advertised rent, not net operating income. They come from different dates and definitions, and none supplies the leases, deposits, vacancy history, bank statements or full expense ledger needed to reconcile them.
What the reported rent figures actually mean
$4,900 in November 2025
Roots Realty Co. says the owner provided a November 2025 rent roll showing eight occupied rooms producing $4,900 per month. That is about $612.50 per occupied room if divided evenly, but the source does not say rents were equal, whether any concessions were included or whether the amount was collected rather than merely contracted. The same report says the owner pays utilities across the properties it discusses; it is not a complete, property-specific expense statement for Ethel Avenue.
$4,950 in April 2026 marketing
The Coldwell Banker/MIBOR listing advertised $4,950 in monthly rental income and described the property as room-by-room housing. Advertising can reflect a pro forma, a seller’s statement or a snapshot that changed before publication. It should be checked against signed leases and a deposit ledger.
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$5,850 in an investor overview
A separately circulated investor overview claims full occupancy and $5,850 in gross monthly rent. Its authorship and supporting records are not established, so the number should remain a document claim rather than a verified performance figure. It may use a different room count, asking rents, or a different date.
Why the figures cannot be averaged
Combining the three numbers into an “expected” rent would create false precision. A proper reconciliation needs, for each room, the lease start and end dates, monthly charge, payment history, deposits, concessions, utilities and any periods of vacancy. It also needs to distinguish scheduled rent from cash actually received.
Sale and listing timeline
| Date | Event recorded | What it does—and does not—prove |
|---|---|---|
| February 27, 2025 | Zillow history displays a $240,000 sale price | Records a past sale event, not today’s value or the buyer’s financing |
| November 2025 | Ownership-provided rent roll reported by Roots Realty Co. | Shows the reported occupancy and rent at that point; not an audit |
| April 14, 2026 | Coldwell Banker listing shown active and last updated | Shows marketing status and asking information at that time |
| June 11, 2026 | Zillow MLS history records the listing as removed | Does not establish whether the property sold, was withdrawn or was relisted elsewhere |
The available records do not establish the post-removal ownership or transaction status. A buyer should obtain a current title search and a fresh listing or assessor check rather than assume the property is still available.
How renting by the room changes the investment
Room-by-room leasing can produce more scheduled rent than a single whole-house lease, but it turns one tenancy into several operating relationships. The relevant comparison is not gross rent alone.
| Issue | Room-by-room model | Whole-house lease |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Several rents can add up to a higher total, but one vacant room reduces income while others remain occupied. | One contractual rent is simpler, but the entire property is vacant when the lease ends or the tenant defaults. |
| Turnover | Move-ins, showings, screening and collections occur at room level and may happen throughout the year. | Turnover is less frequent but can involve a full-house make-ready. |
| Utilities | Owners often include or pay shared utilities, making consumption and billing a recurring expense. | Utilities may be shifted to the tenant, depending on the lease and local practice. |
| Management | More leases, roommate conflicts, common-area rules and maintenance coordination. | Fewer tenant interactions and a simpler lease file. |
| Legal and safety exposure | Rooming-house, occupancy, egress, fire-safety and licensing rules may apply. | Still subject to housing codes, but the regulatory classification may differ. |
| Financing and resale | Lenders, insurers and future buyers may treat shared housing differently from a standard single-family rental. | Often fits more conventional underwriting, subject to the property and lease. |
The public material does not provide enough verified expenses to calculate a cap rate, cash-on-cash return or monthly profit for this property.
Legal checks to complete in Indianapolis before relying on the income
Listing copy is not proof that a rooming-house use is permitted. Before making an offer or representing the property to lenders or partners, verify the parcel directly with Indianapolis-Marion County authorities and obtain written documentation where possible.
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- Zoning and use: Confirm whether the parcel may operate as a rooming house or other shared-housing use, and whether a change-of-use approval is required.
- Occupancy limits: Ask how many unrelated occupants and sleeping rooms are allowed, including limits based on floor area.
- Permits and inspections: Check building permits, certificates of occupancy, open violations and inspection history.
- Fire and life safety: Verify smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms, emergency lighting, egress windows or doors, fire separations and any sprinkler requirements.
- Licensing: Determine whether a rooming-house, rental-registration or other local license is required and whether it is current.
- Bedrooms: Confirm that each advertised bedroom has legal egress, heat, light, ceiling height and any other code-required features.
- Insurance: Get a written quote that expressly covers unrelated occupants and room-by-room leasing; a standard owner-occupied policy may not.
Do not advertise “legal nine-bedroom” or “fully licensed” until these checks are documented. The available listing records establish none of those points.
A buyer’s verification workflow
- Identify the exact parcel. Match the street address, parcel number, legal description and seller’s title to prevent a rent roll from another property being attached to the deal.
- Reconcile the room count. Walk every sleeping room, compare it with the floor plan and assessor data, and record which rooms meet bedroom-code requirements.
- Request a room-level rent roll. Require tenant names or anonymized identifiers, lease dates, rent, deposits, balances, payment history and concessions for every room.
- Verify collections. Match at least several months of deposits to bank statements or a property-management ledger. Scheduled rent is not the same as collected rent.
- Build the expense ledger. Obtain utility bills, property taxes, insurance, repairs, supplies, management fees, internet, lawn and snow service, turnover costs and licensing fees.
- Inspect common areas and systems. Shared kitchens, bathrooms, locks, laundry, heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical capacity receive heavier use than in a typical single-family lease.
- Confirm financing and insurance terms. Tell the lender and insurer that rooms are leased separately. Get the terms in writing before removing contingencies.
- Underwrite stress cases. Model one or more vacant rooms, delayed collections, a major repair, higher utility use and professional management rather than assuming full occupancy.
- Check current status. Because the Zillow history shows removal on June 11, 2026, obtain a current title, tax and listing search to establish whether the property sold or was relisted.
How to underwrite the deal without overstating returns
Start with room-level scheduled rent, then subtract vacancy and credit loss. Next subtract recurring operating expenses, including any utilities the owner pays. The result is a preliminary net operating income—not a guaranteed cash flow figure. Debt service, income taxes, capital improvements and the investor’s labor are handled separately according to the chosen return measure.
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Scheduled room rent
- vacancy and uncollectible rent
= effective gross income
- utilities and operating expenses
= net operating income
- debt service and capital reserves
= cash flow before taxesRun at least three cases: the reported $4,900 monthly rent, the $4,950 advertised amount and a lower case that assumes vacancies and higher expenses. Keep the $5,850 figure in a separate “unverified claim” column until leases and deposits support it. Do not use the $240,000 February 2025 sale price as a current valuation; obtain comparable sales and an appraisal appropriate to the property’s legal use.
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Operational details that are easy to underestimate
Privacy and access
Separate renters need clear rules for bedrooms, common areas, guests, quiet hours, locks and landlord entry. Bedroom privacy door locks may be relevant in a room-rental setup, but the available property material does not identify the installed hardware or establish compatibility. Any replacement must preserve emergency access and comply with local code.
Lease design
Use a jurisdiction-appropriate room-rental agreement that identifies the private room, shared spaces, utility allocation, cleaning duties, guest policy, notice periods, deposit handling and conflict process. Have local counsel or a qualified housing professional review the form; a standard whole-house lease may omit issues unique to shared occupancy.
Turnover and maintenance
Eight occupied rooms can still produce frequent turnover if leases end on different dates. Budget for advertising, screening, cleaning, paint, lock changes, small repairs and periods when a room is unavailable between tenants. Shared plumbing, appliances and HVAC can also create costs that are not visible in a basic rent figure.
What a cautious conclusion looks like
2636 Ethel Avenue is a plausible match for the headline and a useful example of why room-rental listings require deeper diligence than a conventional single-family rental. The records support a four-bath Indianapolis property marketed with eight or nine bedrooms and several different gross-rent figures, but they do not establish current income, net profit, legal occupancy or post-June 2026 ownership.
An investor can proceed only after independently confirming the parcel, legal use, room count, leases, collections, expenses, insurance and financing. Until then, the headline is a marketing description—not a verified investment result.
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