991 US Hwy 34

Herod, IL 62947

$59,900B-

2 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,020 sqft · Built — · SingleFamily · Pending · 114 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $940/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$314
• Tax + insurance: −$79
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$197
• Net cashflow: $350/mo
• Annual: $4,195/yr
• Cap rate: 13.30%
• Cash-on-cash: 25.01%
• DSCR: 2.11
• 1% rule: 1.57%
• Cash to close: $16,772

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $60k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $350 ($4k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($940 rent vs $60k).
• It's been on market 114 days — a 9% lower offer ($55k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $55k (9.0% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• In year one you build about $3k of equity ($414 loan paydown + $3k appreciation (4.3% local appreciation)).
• Location reads: area grade B — affects rentability + tenant quality, not the cash-flow math above.
• Pope County CUD 1 (rural): math 9% / reading 25% proficiency, ranked #492 of 620 in IL (top 79%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Zoned schools: Pope County Elementary School (math 12% / reading 27%, grade F, #1,054 of 2,056 statewide, top 54%, 319 students, 0% FRL); Pope Co High School (math 5% / reading 5%, grade F, #614 of 693 statewide, top 95%, 167 students, 0% FRL) — zoned schools average 0% FRL vs 48% district-wide (48 pts lower); this property's tenant base skews higher-income than the district average.
• Market conditions: 5 active listings in the ZIP.
• Pope County population projected at -21% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 6 sale attempts since 5y ago; this cycle's ask is 58% above the opening price — seller raised mid-cycle; expect resistance to lowballs.
• Current owner paid $32k; list at $60k implies a 87% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.
• At projected returns (4.3% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $17k cash investment doubles in ~3 years — after that, you're playing with house money.
• Climate carrying-cost: extreme-heat days projected 7→21/yr by 2055 (HVAC capex compounding) — expect insurance premiums to compound above CPI over the hold.

Questions for listing agent

• It's been on market 114 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 9% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Why hasn't it sold? Are there any deal-killer items the seller is aware of (foundation, flood, title, zoning, code violations)?
• Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
• 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.