143 Fossil Lake Ct

Braidwood, IL 60481

$120,000D-

1 bd · 1.0 ba · 400 sqft · Built 1998 · Other · Active · 23 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,033/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$629
• Tax + insurance: −$210
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$217
• Net cashflow: $-23/mo
• Annual: $-280/yr
• Cap rate: 6.06%
• Cash-on-cash: -0.83%
• DSCR: 0.96
• 1% rule: 0.86%
• Cash to close: $33,600

Investor read

• This is a 1-bed/1.0-bath other listed at $120k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-23 ($-280/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $116k (3.4% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $103k (13.9% below list).
• It's been on market 23 days — a 2% lower offer ($118k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $103k (13.9% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $830 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $4k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 74/100 on livability (#251 in IL, #4,654 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: amenities F, commute F.
• Reed Custer CUSD 255U (rural): math 29% / reading 37% proficiency, ranked #203 of 620 in IL (top 33%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Zoned schools: Reed-Custer Elementary School (math 40% / reading 45%, grade F, #329 of 2,056 statewide, top 16%, 653 students, 0% FRL); Reed-Custer Middle School (math 24% / reading 36%, grade F, #246 of 665 statewide, top 38%, 287 students, 0% FRL); Reed-Custer High School (math 17% / reading 22%, grade F, #397 of 693 statewide, top 61%, 437 students, 0% FRL) — zoned schools average 0% FRL vs 35% district-wide (35 pts lower); this property's tenant base skews higher-income than the district average.
• Market conditions: 83 active listings in the ZIP; 2,028 units permitted in Will County in 2024 (530 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Will County population projected to shrink 4% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• Current owner paid $57k; list at $120k implies a 111% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• Cap rate 6.1% vs local median 3.1% in Braidwood — 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

• What do current leases actually rent for vs. the listed asking? Can we see a recent rent roll and the last 12 months of T-12 income?
• 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?
• The area grade is low — what's the realistic commute time and amenity access for the typical tenant pool here? Any planned neighborhood developments (good or bad) we should know about?
• 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.