ScoUT Report · Illustrative sample
Prepared · Rules last checked 2026-10-07
Washington City, Utah · Washington County
1919 E Fiesta Ln — Casitas at Sienna Hills
Listing claim: “zoned for nightly rental.” ScoUT checked that claim against city code. It holds up. The money is the problem.
ScoUT verdict
Red · doesn't pencil financedThe score is withheld whenever a gate fails. That is by design, so a weak deal never shows up with a decent-looking number.
Why it ranks
The legal path is unusually clean. The RRST overlay is zoning that runs with the land, the evidence is grade A (ordinance plus parcel), and the 10-guest cap is confirmed.
Primary risk
UNFINANCEABLE. Modelled base NOI of $6.3K covers only 21% of a $30.6K DSCR loan payment. A lender needs about 100%.
The catch
The seller's business license does not transfer (Washington City 3-2-13), so you re-license after closing. The HOA's rental rules haven't been verified yet.
Gate 1 · Can you legally run it?
Yellow · pending HOA docsWashington City Code 9-12E lists Casitas at Sienna Hills as an approved RRST subdivision. Nightly rentals (27 nights or less) are permitted, and no owner occupancy is required. The overlay is zoning, so it runs with the land.
Code 3-2-13 requires a business license per unit, and licenses are not transferable. Budget for a new application after closing, plus proof of TRT remittance at each annual renewal and an annual fire inspection. You also need a local property manager or contact who lives in Washington County.
We haven't read the CC&Rs or rental rules. Ask for the recorded CC&Rs, the rules and regulations, any rental registration or fees, and recent minutes before the due-diligence deadline. City permission doesn't override an HOA restriction.
The Casitas cap is 10 guests per unit, and the city STR page requires fire sprinklers at 11 or more. Market the unit as “sleeps 10,” not more.
Gate 2 · Can you finance it?
FailAssumptions: DSCR loan at 7.25%, 30-year amortization; closing costs 3% ($14,970); furnishing $25,000; insurance $2,400/yr (an estimate, not a quote; the gate treats the unit as insurable). A typical DSCR lender wants 1.0x or better. To reach 1.0x, this unit needs about $75,900 in gross bookings, 1.77 times the modelled base.
Loan qualifies? (lender DSCR)
Likely no · 0.84x base
Gross-rent basis: $43,000 × 75% (a 25% STR expense factor; lenders use roughly 20–25%) = $32,250, ÷ PITIA $38,191 (payment, tax, insurance, HOA). Conservative 0.71x, upside 1.02x. Ignores management, cleaning and utilities.
Actual cash flow (economic DSCR)
Negative · 0.21x · −$24,319/yr
NOI after every operating cost ÷ debt service; this is what ScoUT's Gate 2 uses. Even in the upside case, where a lender might just qualify the loan (1.02x), the property loses about $17.7K a year financed.
Management sensitivity (base, 25% down)
| Model | Mgmt fee | NOI | Cash flow | Economic DSCR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full management (20%) | −7,310 | 6,317 | −24,319 | 0.21 |
| Hybrid co-host (~12%) | −4,386 | 9,241 | −21,395 | 0.30 |
| Self-managed (your time at $0) | 0 | 13,627 | −17,009 | 0.44 |
Implied owner hourly rate at an assumed 240 hours/yr: about $30/hr vs full management, $18/hr vs hybrid. No management model makes this pencil financed at 25% down.
Underwriting MODELLED · L0
Annual figures, financed case| Line | Conservative | Base | Upside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross bookings (excl. TRT/sales tax) | 36,000 | 43,000 | 52,000 |
| of which cleaning fees (12%, pass-through) | 4,320 | 5,160 | 6,240 |
| Rental revenue ex-cleaning | 31,680 | 37,840 | 45,760 |
| OTA fees (3% host-side) | −1,080 | −1,290 | −1,560 |
| Management (20% of rental net of OTA) | −6,120 | −7,310 | −8,840 |
| Cleaning cost (63 turns × $130), offset by fees above | −8,190 | −8,190 | −8,190 |
| Utilities | −4,200 | −4,200 | −4,200 |
| Supplies (2%) | −634 | −757 | −915 |
| Maintenance (1% of price) | −4,990 | −4,990 | −4,990 |
| CapEx reserve (5% of rental) | −1,584 | −1,892 | −2,288 |
| Insurance (estimate) | −2,400 | −2,400 | −2,400 |
| Property tax (100% FMV, non-primary, 0.60% assumed) | −2,994 | −2,994 | −2,994 |
| HOA ($180 × 12) | −2,160 | −2,160 | −2,160 |
| Licenses & fees (estimate) | −500 | −500 | −500 |
| Net operating income | 1,148 | 6,317 | 12,963 |
| Debt service | −30,637 | −30,637 | −30,637 |
| Cash flow | −29,488 | −24,319 | −17,674 |
| Cash-on-cash (on $164,720) | −17.9% | −14.8% | −10.7% |
| Economic DSCR (NOI ÷ debt service) | 0.04 | 0.21 | 0.42 |
| Lender DSCR (gross × 75% ÷ PITIA) | 0.71 | 0.84 | 1.02 |
Cleaning is counted once: guest cleaning fees stay in revenue and the full cleaner cost is deducted (audited 2026-10-07; the corrected model reproduces every figure here). Rows may not add exactly because of rounding. Utah transient room and sales taxes are collected from guests and remitted, so they're excluded from revenue.
Annual cash flow by scenario
Financed (25% down) vs all-cash. Bars drawn to scale.
Financed · DSCR 7.25% All-cash ($539K in)
Sensitivity (all-cash base, 1.17% CoC)
Change in cash-on-cash, percentage points
All-cash breakeven: base revenue can fall about 19.9% before cash flow hits zero.
Long-term-rental downside MODELLED
If STR use failed, ScoUT assumes $1,900/mo rent (an assumption, not a rent comp), 5% vacancy, 8% management and tenant-paid utilities.
| LTR NOI | $8,252 |
| Cash flow, financed | −$22,385 |
| DSCR, financed | 0.27 |
What would make this work
- All-cash or very low leverage. The modelled all-cash CoC is 0.2% / 1.2% / 2.4% across the three scenarios, with a score of 51.7 (Orange). It works as a parking spot for cash, not as a cash-flow play.
- Real unit history. If the seller can show booking statements well above $43K, re-run the model. Upgrading revenue from L0 to L3 would also raise confidence.
- A price that fits the income. At these revenue levels, a price cut alone won't get a 25%-down loan to 1.0x.
Verification level
Confidence 55.1 / 100Confidence inputs: revenue 0.42 · expenses 0.45 · legal 1.00 · comps 0.35 · recency 0.85 (geometric mean, so a single weak input pulls the total down).
Sources
- Washington City Code 9-12E-1 to 9-12E-9, RRST overlay (Ord. 2015-02). amlegal
- Washington City Code 3-2-13, STR business license, non-transferable (Ord. 2022-64, amd. Ord. 2025-10)
- Washington City Code 9-14-25, STR outside the overlay (context)
- Washington City STR page: sprinklers at 11+ occupants; Casitas max 10/unit
- City GIS: ZONEDESC “Residential Rental Short Term” polygons
- AirDNA market averages, St. George and Hurricane (internal research, R1)
- ScoUT 34-listing information-gap study (R2), listing row: verdict CONFIRMED, grade A
- Model: scout_score.py (R2 spec). Rates and defaults are placeholders that haven't been calibrated yet.
Rules last checked 2026-10-07.
Illustrative sample. This report uses a real public listing to show the ScoUT format. Revenue and expenses are estimates, not guarantees. Legal findings reflect our reading of the cited code on the date shown and are not legal advice. Before you rely on them, confirm with Washington City, the HOA and your lender. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or not buy.
Brokered by Equity Real Estate - NRE · Utah. MLS listing data is shown as received, and ScoUT analysis is labeled separately.