303 S Walnut St · West Union, IL 62477

$98,500

3 bd · 1.0 ba · 1,670 sqft · SingleFamily public records · 19 Days on market

Built 1890 0.47 ac lot

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Why this score? — see what drove the B 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 +30.0/30.0
• DSCR +10.0/10.0
• 1% rule +9.1/10.0
• ARV discount +7.5/15.0
• Appreciation +5.0/10.0
• Livability +3.1/5.0
• Schools +2.9/10.0
• Rent growth +2.5/5.0
• Condition / age +2.5/5.0

Listing remarks

This charming 3-bedroom, 1-bath home offers rural living with room to spread out both inside and out. Recent major updates include a NEW roof on both the house and detached garage, each less than one year old. Inside, you’ll find spacious living areas, a large laundry room, built-in bedroom storage, and a whole-house fan for added comfort and efficiency. The property also features multiple outbuildings including a detached garage, a storage shed with electricity & cellar, and a barn with electrical service already run to it (though currently not operational), offering excellent potential for hobbies, storage, workshop space, or future use. Conveniently located just 15 minutes fr

Key facts

• Storage shed
• Whole-house fan
• New roof

Tags

• NEW ROOF
• DETACHED GARAGE
• STORAGE SHED
• BARN WITH ELECTRICAL SERVICE
• MULTIPLE OUTBUILDINGS
• WHOLE-HOUSE FAN

Property features AI

Exterior

• Parking: Detached garage
• Utilities: Public water; Septic sewer
• Home design: Single-family residence; Two levels / Two-story
• Construction: Vinyl siding and plaster exterior; Composition shingle roof; Built with crawl space foundation
• Exterior features: Front porch; Shed(s) / outbuilding; Gravel road access

Interior

• Kitchen: Cooktop; Range; Microwave; Dishwasher
• Bathrooms: One full bathroom
• Heating & cooling: Natural gas forced-air heating; Central air conditioning
• Interior features: Six total rooms; Crawl space basement
• Laundry & utility: Laundry on main level; Gas water heater

What this means for you Summary

Snapshot

• This is a 3-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $98k.

Deal economics

• At list price, monthly cash flow is $409 ($5k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($1k rent vs $98k).
• Recommended offer: $97k (1.5% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.

Location & tenants

• Location reads 62/100 on livability (#850 in IL) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, housing A+; Watch: schools C-, crime F, amenities F.
• Hutsonville CUSD 1 (rural): math 15% / reading 45% proficiency, ranked #491 of 919 in IL (top 53%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Market conditions: 2 active listings in the ZIP; 1 units permitted in Clark County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).

Forward outlook

• In year one you build about $4k of equity ($681 loan paydown + $3k appreciation (3.0% local appreciation)).
• Clark County population projected at -20% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• At projected returns (3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $28k cash investment doubles in ~4 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• By year 9, paydown + projected appreciation supports a ~$31k cash-out refi (75% LTV) — recoverable capital for the next deal without selling this one.

Negotiation context

• It's been on market 19 days — a 2% lower offer ($97k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.

Risks & watch-outs

• Watch-outs: flood insurance adds $66/mo; built in 1890 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Climate carrying-cost: major flood risk — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.

Recommended offer $97,022 (1.5% below list)

Questions for the listing agent

1. Built in 1890 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
2. What's the actual annual flood-insurance premium (NFIP or private), and is the property in a SFHA with mandatory coverage?
3. Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
4. Crime grade is F in this area — have there been break-ins, vandalism, or insurance claims at this property in the last 3 years? What carrier currently insures it and at what premium?
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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: 1.41% ✓
• Cap rate: 12.09%
• Cash-on-cash: 20.69%
• DSCR: 1.92
• GRM: 5.9

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: 24.2%
• Equity multiple: 2.38×
• Total profit: $37,946
• Equity at exit: $44,290

10-year hold

• IRR: 25.1%
• Equity multiple: 4.58×
• Total profit: $98,626
• Equity at exit: $68,256

Cash invested: $27,580 (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 62477

• Active inventory: 2
• Price-to-rent: 5.9×

Monthly cashflow live

• Estimated rent: $1,393 medium
• Mortgage (P&I): −$517
• Tax from tax record: −$67 /mo · $806/yr
• Insurance: −$41
• Flood insurance flood zone: −$66 /mo · $798/yr
• HOA: −$0
• Vacancy / Maint / Mgmt: −$292
• Net cashflow: $409

Break-even live

Break-even rent $875

Max offer price $98,500

Occupancy floor 66%

Sensitivity live

Price	-10% $465	-5% $437	+0% $409	+5% $381	+10% $353
Rent	-10% $299	-5% $354	+0% $409	+5% $464	+10% $519
Rate	-1.0pp $459	-0.5pp $434	base $409	+0.5pp $384	+1.0pp $358

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: $24,625
• Closing costs: $2,955
• Reserves months: —
• Total cash needed: —

Listing history 2 events

1. 2026-05-14
   historical Active Under Contract
2. 2026-05-09
   listed $98,500 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: $806 · $67/mo
• Projected year-2 tax: $1,521 · $127/mo
• Expected delta: +$715/yr (+$60/mo · 88.8%)

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

Climate risk First Street

• 🌊 Flood 7/10 Severe FEMA zone X (unshaded) · 99% chance over 30 yrs
• 🔥 Wildfire 1/10 Low
• 🌡 Heat 4/10 Moderate 7 d/yr ≥106°F today · 19 d/yr by 30 yrs out
• 💨 Wind 2/10 Low 100% 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: $16,713
• − Mortgage interest: −$5,518
• − Property taxes: −$806
• − Insurance: −$1,290
• − Repairs & maintenance: −$1,337
• − Management: −$1,337
• − Depreciation: −$2,865
• Taxable income: $3,560
• Est. tax owed @ 24.0%: −$854
• After-tax cash flow: $4,054/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: Hutsonville CUSD 1
• NCES district ID: 1719920
• Math proficiency: 15% ▼ -5.00%
• Reading proficiency: 45% ▲ 20.00%
• Median HH income: $48,628
• Composite: 28.85/100
• National rank: #11961
• State rank: #491 of 919 in IL

Livability — West Union

• Score: 62/100
• State rank: #850
• US rank: #16684

Category grades

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

Schools grade is shown separately in the Schools card above.

Census & demographics

• Census place: West Union, IL
• Population (ZIP): 755

Population outlook (Clark County) Hauer SSP2

• Today (2025): 14,978 people
• By 2030: 14,380 · -4.0%
• By 2040: 13,135 · -12.3%
• By 2050: 11,920 · -20.4%
• By 2075: 9,254 · -38.2%
• By 2100: 6,737 · -55.0%

Race, ethnicity, and origin ACS 2023

• Neighborhood character: Predominantly White (98%)
• Race & ethnicity: White 98% Black 2%
• Common ancestry: Slovak 7% Romanian 5% Lithuanian 3%
• Foreign-born: 1%
• Languages at home: 99% English-only · German/W. Germanic 1%

Political lean MEDSL · Clark

• 2024 margin: Solid R (+51.2) · D 23.5% · R 74.7% · Other 1.8%
• 2008→2024 swing: -43.2pp toward R · 2008: -8.1pp · 2024: -51.2pp
• All cycles: 2024: R+51.2 2020: R+50.7 2016: R+47.9 2012: R+32.5 2008: R+8.1

Not yet ingested

• Civics: —

Market trends

• HPI YoY: —
• Current HPI: —
• 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

2 events — show timeline

• 2026-05-14 Contingent — CIBR
• 2026-05-09 Listed $98,500 CIBR

Property tax history

+2.3%/yr

Latest (2024): $806 · +3.7% YoY. Source: county tax records.