697 E Bims Rd

Brussels, IL 62013

$150,000D-

3 bd · 2.0 ba · 1,800 sqft · Built 2004 · SingleFamily · Active · 242 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $1,208/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$787
• Tax + insurance: −$250
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$254
• Net cashflow: $-82/mo
• Annual: $-989/yr
• Cap rate: 5.63%
• Cash-on-cash: -2.36%
• DSCR: 0.90
• 1% rule: 0.81%
• Cash to close: $42,000

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/2.0-bath single-family listed at $150k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-82 ($-989/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $138k (8.0% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $121k (19.5% below list).
• It's been on market 242 days — a 12% lower offer ($132k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $121k (19.5% below list) — sets the bar for 1% rule.
• In year one you build about $1k of equity ($1k loan paydown + $351 appreciation (0.2% local appreciation)).
• Location reads 60/100 on livability (#1,008 in IL) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, crime A, housing B+; Watch: schools D-, amenities F, commute F.
• Brussels CUSD 42 (rural): math 30% / reading 30% proficiency, ranked #479 of 919 in IL (top 52%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases.
• Market conditions: 1 active listings in the ZIP; 11 units permitted in Calhoun County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Calhoun County population projected at -34% by 2050 — secular population decline; favor cash flow + early exit over multi-decade hold.
• 4 sale attempts; this cycle's ask has dropped $10k (6%) from the opening price — seller is motivated, your offer sets the floor, not the list.

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?
• It's been on market 242 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 19% 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.
• 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.