836 E Locust St

Watseka, IL 60970

$85,000B-

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,032 sqft · Built 1950 · SingleFamily · Active · 7 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $968/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$446
• Tax + insurance: −$80
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$203
• Net cashflow: $239/mo
• Annual: $2,863/yr
• Cap rate: 9.66%
• Cash-on-cash: 12.03%
• DSCR: 1.54
• 1% rule: 1.14%
• Cash to close: $23,800

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $85k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $239 ($3k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($968 rent vs $85k).
• Only 7 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• In year one you build about $2k of equity ($588 loan paydown + $1k appreciation (1.3% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 63/100 on livability (#811 in IL) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+, crime B+; Watch: schools D, amenities F, commute F.
• Iroquois County CUSD 9 (rural): math 18% / reading 35% proficiency, ranked #316 of 620 in IL (top 51%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Watch-outs: built in 1950 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 39 active listings in the ZIP; 14 units permitted in Iroquois County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Iroquois County population projected at -20% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• At projected returns (1.3% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $24k cash investment doubles in ~5 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Cap rate 9.7% vs local median 3.5% in Watseka — top-decile yield for the area; either an underpriced asset or a hidden risk that comps aren't pricing in. Stress-test before assuming the spread holds.

Questions for listing agent

• Built in 1950 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
• Schools are D-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
• What's the average days-on-market for RENTAL listings here right now (not sales)? A rising rental-DOM trend means longer vacancies and softer asking-rent achievability than the comps imply.
• What's the recent tenant-quality profile in this submarket — average credit score on applications, eviction rate, late-payment / NSF rate, and stable-employment percentage? A property-management company in the area should have these aggregated.
• How much new for-sale + rental construction is in the pipeline within 1–3 miles? Heavy new supply typically softens prices + rents 12–24 months out; constrained supply supports both.