229 N 1st St · Vandalia, IL 62471

$84,900

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,746 sqft · Other public records · 5 Days on market

Built 1895 9,120 sqft lot ↓ 43% since listing

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Why this score? — see what drove the C+ grade

The composite is a weighted blend of 9 inputs, each scored 0–100. Each bar is that input's sub-score; the figure is the points it added to the 100-point composite (weight × sub-score).

• Cash flow +28.1/30.0
• DSCR +10.0/10.0
• 1% rule +8.3/10.0
• ARV discount +7.5/15.0
• Livability +3.6/5.0
• Rent growth +2.5/5.0
• Condition / age +2.5/5.0
• Schools +1.8/10.0
• Appreciation +0.0/10.0

Listing remarks

Motivated Sellers! This Classic Victorian Home is Priced to Sell & would make an excellent home for a family looking to make it all their own, or an investor looking to add to their portfolio. Many of the big projects are done with a New Roof in 2022, New Water Heater in 2024, New Carpet 2024, New Furnace in 2025, and an Updated Kitchen with Hickory Cabinetry. This Home offers 3 Bedrooms and 1 1/2 Bathrooms. As you enter from the covered front porch, you walk into the living room with tall ceilings & large windows, there is also a den, which the current owners are using as a bedroom, as well as a formal dining room, Full Bath, Kitchen & Laundry Room. Upstairs, you will fin

Key facts

• New furnace
• New carpet
• New water heater

Tags

• NEW ROOF
• NEW WATER HEATER
• NEW CARPET
• NEW FURNACE
• UPDATED KITCHEN
• HICKORY CABINETRY

Property features AI

Exterior

• Parking: Detached garage (1 car)
• Utilities: Public water; Public sewer
• Home design: Single-family residence; Two stories
• Construction: Wood siding; Shingle roof; Has basement
• Exterior features: Front porch; Patio; Gravel road access

Interior

• Kitchen: Dishwasher; Refrigerator; Electric water heater
• Bedrooms: Total rooms: 8
• Bathrooms: 1 full bathroom; 1 half bathroom
• Heating & cooling: Natural gas forced-air heating; Central air conditioning
• Interior features: Pantry; Unfinished basement
• Laundry & utility: Laundry on main level

What this means for you Summary

Snapshot

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath other listed at $85k.

Deal economics

• At list price, monthly cash flow is $266 ($3k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $85k).
• Cap rate 10.1% vs local median 4.9% in Vandalia — 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.

Location & tenants

• Location reads 71/100 on livability (#348 in IL) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, cost of living A+, housing A-; Watch: employment D, schools D-, amenities F.
• Vandalia CUSD 203 (town): math 17% / reading 25% proficiency, ranked #414 of 620 in IL (top 67%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Market conditions: 44 active listings in the ZIP.

Forward outlook

• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $587 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $3k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Fayette County population projected to shrink 9% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $24k cash investment doubles in ~9 years — after that, you're playing with house money.

Negotiation context

• Only 5 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.
• 4 sale attempts since 2y ago with the ask held roughly flat each time — persistent listings suggest the price (not the market) is what's stuck; bring a comps-based counter.

Risks & watch-outs

• Watch-outs: built in 1895 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.

Recommended offer $84,900

Questions for the listing agent

1. Built in 1895 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
2. Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
3. 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?
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.

Investment metrics

• 1% rule: 1.33% ✓
• Cap rate: 10.05%
• Cash-on-cash: 13.43%
• DSCR: 1.60
• GRM: 6.3

CMA / ARV

No comps found within radius.

Projected returns pro-forma

-3.0% appreciation · 3.0% rent growth · sell at horizon

5-year hold

• IRR: 3.5%
• Equity multiple: 1.14×
• Total profit: $3,225
• Equity at exit: $12,659

10-year hold

• IRR: 13.1%
• Equity multiple: 2.04×
• Total profit: $24,791
• Equity at exit: $7,341

Cash invested: $23,772 (down + closing). Projections, not guarantees.

Landlord ↔ Tenant lean methodology

• Overall (STATE): 43 Moderately Tenant-Leaning
• State Illinois: 43 Moderately Tenant-Leaning · D+7
• County: — inherits STATE
• City: — inherits STATE

Chicago RTLO is among the strongest tenant ordinances in the Midwest; downstate is more landlord-friendly.

Methodology + full state rankings →

ZIP-level market 62471

• Active inventory: 44
• Price-to-rent: 6.3×

Monthly cashflow live

• Estimated rent: $1,130 medium
• Mortgage (P&I): −$445
• Tax from tax record: −$146 /mo · $1,756/yr
• Insurance: −$35
• HOA: −$0
• Vacancy / Maint / Mgmt: −$237
• Net cashflow: $266

Break-even live

Break-even rent $794

Max offer price $84,900

Occupancy floor 71%

UW: 25.0% down · 7.5% · 30yr · 1.5% tax · 5.0% vac · 8.0% maint · 8.0% mgmt

Financing live

Cash to close

• Down payment: $21,225
• Closing costs: $2,547
• Reserves months: —
• Total cash needed: —

Listing history 14 events

1. 2026-05-18
   listed $84,900 Active
2. 2026-02-03
   price $99,000
3. 2025-12-01
   price $115,000
4. 2025-10-01
   listed $139,500 Active
5. 2025-08-19
   historical
6. 2025-08-18
   historical
7. 2025-07-09
   price
8. 2025-06-02
   price
9. 2025-05-25
   price
10. 2025-05-18
    listed Active
11. 2024-11-18
    soldstatus $130,000
12. 2024-10-04
    soldstatus Closed
13. 2024-09-23
    status Pending
14. 2024-07-24
    listed $149,900 Active

ⓘ Source: listings_history table (triggers on properties + properties_extension) + one-shot backfill from property_details.listing_events for pre-trigger history.

Tax reassessment forecast IL · Partial reset (capped growth)

• Current annual tax: $1,756 · $146/mo
• Projected year-2 tax: $1,842 · $153/mo
• Expected delta: +$86/yr (+$7/mo · 4.9%)

ⓘ Screening estimate from a state-policy table — verify with the county assessor before closing.

Climate risk First Street

• 🌊 Flood 1/10 Low 0% chance over 30 yrs
• 🔥 Wildfire 1/10 Low
• 🌡 Heat 4/10 Moderate 7 d/yr ≥105°F today · 19 d/yr by 30 yrs out
• 💨 Wind 2/10 Low 2% chance of damaging wind over 30 yrs
• 🫁 Air quality 2/10 Low 1 unhealthy d/yr today · 2 by 30 yrs out

Taxation est. · year 1

• Rental income: $13,563
• − Mortgage interest: −$4,756
• − Property taxes: −$1,756
• − Insurance: −$424
• − Repairs & maintenance: −$1,085
• − Management: −$1,085
• − Depreciation: −$2,470
• Taxable income: $1,987
• Est. tax owed @ 24.0%: −$477
• After-tax cash flow: $2,715/yr

For passive investors: Depreciation is non-cash, so a rental often shows a tax loss while cash-flowing — sheltering income. Rental losses are passive: they offset passive income freely, and up to $25,000/yr can offset ordinary (W-2) income if you actively participate and your MAGI is under $100k (phasing out to $0 by $150k); unused losses carry forward. On sale, claimed depreciation is recaptured at up to 25%, and gains may owe capital-gains tax (a 1031 exchange can defer both). Figures are a year-1 estimate at your 24.0% rate — not tax advice; consult a CPA.

Schools (NCES district)

• District: Vandalia CUSD 203
• NCES district ID: 1740140
• Math proficiency: 17% ▼ -4.00%
• Reading proficiency: 25% ▼ -7.00%
• Median HH income: $45,995
• Composite: 18.33/100
• National rank: #8948
• State rank: #414 of 620 in IL

Livability — Vandalia

• Score: 71/100
• State rank: #348
• US rank: #7078

Category grades

Amenities F Commute F Cost of living A+ Crime A+ Employment D Housing A- Health & safety F User ratings A+

Schools grade is shown separately in the Schools card above.

Census & demographics

• Census place: Vandalia, IL
• City population: 10,309
• Population (ZIP): 10,309

Population outlook (Fayette County) Hauer SSP2

• Today (2025): 21,667 people
• By 2030: 21,362 · -1.4%
• By 2040: 20,602 · -4.9%
• By 2050: 19,669 · -9.2%
• By 2075: 16,870 · -22.1%
• By 2100: 12,861 · -40.6%

Race, ethnicity, and origin ACS 2023

• Neighborhood character: Predominantly White (86%)
• Race & ethnicity: White 86% Black 7% Two or more races 5% Hispanic / Latino 4%
• Common ancestry: Lithuanian 2% Slovak 1% Romanian 1%
• Foreign-born: 2% · Canada
• Languages at home: 92% English-only · Spanish 4% German/W. Germanic 3%

Political lean MEDSL · Fayette

• 2024 margin: Solid R (+64.7) · D 17.0% · R 81.7% · Other 1.3%
• 2008→2024 swing: -48.9pp toward R · 2008: -15.8pp · 2024: -64.7pp
• All cycles: 2024: R+64.7 2020: R+61.8 2016: R+58.3 2012: R+34.6 2008: R+15.8

Not yet ingested

• Civics: —

Market trends

• HPI YoY: ▼ -73.05%
• Current HPI: 133.4945
• Rent YoY: —
• Metro: —
• State GDP YoY: ▲ 1.59%
• F500 in state: 60

Industry mix (Fortune 500 HQ in IL)

Industry	F500 HQs	Revenue
▸Insurance	4	$201B
▸Consumer Goods	4	$87B
▸Industrial Machinery	3	$64B
▸Healthcare	2	$55B
▸Retail / Pharmacy	1	$148B
▸Agriculture / Food	1	$86B

Price history

-43.4% since first listed

14 events — show timeline

• 2026-05-18 Listed $84,900 CIBR
• 2026-02-03 Price Changed $99,000 MARIS as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2025-12-01 Price Changed $115,000 MARIS as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2025-10-01 Listed $139,500 MARIS as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2025-08-19 Listing Removed — RMLSA as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2025-08-18 Listing Removed — MRED as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2025-07-09 Price Changed — RMLSA as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2025-06-02 Price Changed — RMLSA as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2025-05-25 Price Changed — RMLSA as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2025-05-18 Listed — RMLSA as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2024-11-18 Sold (Public Records) $130,000 Public Records
• 2024-10-04 Sold (MLS) — MARIS as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2024-09-23 Pending — MARIS as Distributed by MLS Grid
• 2024-07-24 Listed $149,900 MARIS as Distributed by MLS Grid

Property tax history

+0.7%/yr

Latest (2024): $1,756 · +1.8% YoY. Source: county tax records.