1143 Chicago Ln · Arkdale, WI 53934

$119,900

3 bd · 1.5 ba · 1,277 sqft · Other · 3 Days on market

Built 1980 0.50 ac lot

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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 +27.9/30.0
• DSCR +9.9/10.0
• 1% rule +7.5/10.0
• ARV discount +7.5/15.0
• Livability +2.9/5.0
• Rent growth +2.5/5.0
• Condition / age +2.5/5.0
• Schools +1.7/10.0
• Appreciation +0.0/10.0

Listing remarks

Rustic Log Cabin Retreat walking distance to Big Roche-A-Cri Lake. Investor or Handyman Special. Features 3 BR upper level, 1.5 baths, full basement, 2 Car Det garage nestled on 1/2 acre wooded lot. This home is in need of TLC, making an ideal opportunity for investors, DIY enthusiasts or anyone ready to bring their vision to life. With a little work, this gem could truly shine. Seller states it will require a new septic, water pump is missing, needs roof on home and garage, logs need staining and other misc. work. Great location near several golf courses and other lake choices as well as on ATV Trails. Located just 45 minutes north of Wis. Dells. Get your visions together and bring this ho

Key facts

• 1/2 acre wooded lot
• Full basement
• 2 car det garage

Tags

• RUSTIC LOG CABIN RETREAT
• FULL BASEMENT
• 2 CAR DET GARAGE
• 1/2 ACRE WOODED LOT
• LOCATION ON ATV TRAILS

Property features AI

Finance

• Other: Zoning: R-3; Lot size about 0.5 acre

Exterior

• Parking: Detached 2-car garage
• Utilities: Well water; Private septic system
• Home design: Single-family, 2-story home; Approximately 1,251–1,500 finished square feet; Estimated 1,277 finished above-grade square feet
• Construction: Log exterior; Year built: Other (see remarks)
• Exterior features: Deck; Wooded lot

Interior

• Kitchen: Kitchen (10 x 11, main level); Range/Oven
• Bedrooms: Master bedroom (11 x 19, upper level); Bedroom 2 (10 x 15, upper level); Bedroom 3 (10 x 11, upper level)
• Bathrooms: One full bathroom; One half bathroom; No en-suite/master bath
• Heating & cooling: Forced air heating; LP gas fuel
• Interior features: Full basement; Living room (15 x 23, main level); Dining room (11 x 11, main level); Additional small room/space (5 x 8, upper level)

What this means for you Summary

Snapshot

• This is a 3-bed/1.5-bath other listed at $120k.

Deal economics

• At list price, monthly cash flow is $370 ($4k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($2k rent vs $120k).

Location & tenants

• Location reads 57/100 on livability (#749 in WI) — a working-class tenant base; expect higher turnover. Strengths: cost of living A+; Watch: employment D+, housing D, health & safety D.
• Adams-Friendship Area School District (rural): math 22% / reading 19% proficiency, ranked #331 of 342 in WI (top 97%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Zoned schools: Adams-Friendship Elementary (math 27% / reading 17%, grade F, #823 of 1,041 statewide, top 82%, 494 students, 67% FRL); Adams-Friendship High (math 12% / reading 17%, grade F, #427 of 483 statewide, top 90%, 443 students, 62% FRL) — zoned schools at 64% FRL track the district average.
• Market conditions: 90 active listings in the ZIP; 126 units permitted in Adams County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).

Forward outlook

• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $829 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $4k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Adams County population projected at -33% 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 $34k cash investment doubles in ~9 years — after that, you're playing with house money.

Negotiation context

• Only 3 days on market — expect competitive offers; lowballing is unlikely to land.

Recommended offer $119,900

Questions for the listing agent

1. Is there a deadline driving the sale (1031 exchange, divorce, estate, relocation)? That informs how much negotiation room exists.
2. Schools are F-rated, which usually means shorter tenancies and higher turnover. Who's the typical renter profile here, and what's been the actual vacancy rate?
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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: 1.25% ✓
• Cap rate: 10.00%
• Cash-on-cash: 13.23%
• DSCR: 1.59
• GRM: 6.7

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: 3.2%
• Equity multiple: 1.12×
• Total profit: $4,161
• Equity at exit: $17,877

10-year hold

• IRR: 12.8%
• Equity multiple: 2.01×
• Total profit: $34,040
• Equity at exit: $10,367

Cash invested: $33,572 (down + closing). Projections, not guarantees.

Landlord ↔ Tenant lean methodology

• Overall (STATE): 73 Landlord-Friendly
• State Wisconsin: 73 Landlord-Friendly · R+2
• County: — inherits STATE
• City: — inherits STATE

5-day notice; preempted; Madison / Milwaukee have some local enforcement.

Methodology + full state rankings →

ZIP-level market 53934

• Home prices YoY: -26.5%
• Active inventory: 90
• Price-to-rent: 6.7×

Monthly cashflow live

• Estimated rent: $1,500 medium
• Mortgage (P&I): −$629
• Tax from tax record: −$136 /mo · $1,636/yr
• Insurance: −$50
• HOA: −$0
• Vacancy / Maint / Mgmt: −$315
• Net cashflow: $370

Break-even live

Break-even rent $1,032

Max offer price $119,900

Occupancy floor 70%

Sensitivity live

Price	-10% $438	-5% $404	+0% $370	+5% $336	+10% $302
Rent	-10% $252	-5% $311	+0% $370	+5% $429	+10% $489
Rate	-1.0pp $431	-0.5pp $401	base $370	+0.5pp $339	+1.0pp $307

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: $29,975
• Closing costs: $3,597
• Reserves months: —
• Total cash needed: —

Listing history 1 events

1. 2026-05-21
   listed $119,900 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 WI · Partial reset (capped growth)

• Current annual tax: $1,636 · $136/mo
• Projected year-2 tax: $1,927 · $161/mo
• Expected delta: +$291/yr (+$24/mo · 17.8%)

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

Climate risk First Street

• 🌊 Flood 1/10 Low FEMA zone X (unshaded) · 0% chance over 30 yrs
• 🔥 Wildfire 3/10 Moderate
• 🌡 Heat 1/10 Low 7 d/yr ≥98°F today · 13 d/yr by 30 yrs out
• 💨 Wind 2/10 Low
• 🫁 Air quality 1/10 Low 0 unhealthy d/yr today · 0 by 30 yrs out

Taxation est. · year 1

• Rental income: $18,003
• − Mortgage interest: −$6,716
• − Property taxes: −$1,636
• − Insurance: −$600
• − Repairs & maintenance: −$1,440
• − Management: −$1,440
• − Depreciation: −$3,488
• Taxable income: $2,683
• Est. tax owed @ 24.0%: −$644
• After-tax cash flow: $3,798/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: Adams-Friendship Area School District
• NCES district ID: 5500060
• Math proficiency: 22% ▼ -5.00%
• Reading proficiency: 19% ▼ -5.00%
• Median HH income: $38,165
• Composite: 17.22/100
• National rank: #9100
• State rank: #331 of 342 in WI

Livability — Arkdale

• Score: 57/100
• State rank: #749
• US rank: #21906

Category grades

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

Schools grade is shown separately in the Schools card above.

Census & demographics

• Population (ZIP): 4,404

Population outlook (Adams County) Hauer SSP2

• Today (2025): 18,560 people
• By 2030: 17,523 · -5.6%
• By 2040: 14,888 · -19.8%
• By 2050: 12,359 · -33.4%
• By 2075: 8,662 · -53.3%
• By 2100: 6,000 · -67.7%

Race, ethnicity, and origin ACS 2023

• Neighborhood character: Predominantly White (90%)
• Race & ethnicity: White 90% Two or more races 7% Hispanic / Latino 4% Black 1%
• Common ancestry: Romanian 11% Portuguese 8% Lithuanian 3%
• Foreign-born: 3% · Canada
• Languages at home: 96% English-only · Russian/Polish/Slavic 2% Spanish 1%

Political lean MEDSL · Adams

• 2024 margin: Strong R (+25.8) · D 34.6% · R 60.4% · Other 5.0%
• 2008→2024 swing: -44.2pp toward R · 2008: 18.3pp · 2024: -25.8pp
• All cycles: 2024: R+25.8 2020: R+25.7 2016: R+21.8 2012: D+8.7 2008: D+18.3

Not yet ingested

• Civics: —

Market trends

• HPI YoY: ▼ -96.94%
• Current HPI: 268.5442
• Rent YoY: —
• Metro: —
• State GDP YoY: ▲ 2.10%
• F500 in state: 20

Industry mix (Fortune 500 HQ in WI)

Industry	F500 HQs	Revenue
▸Industrial Machinery	4	$23B
▸Industrial Technology	2	$36B
▸Insurance	1	$36B
▸Professional Services	1	$19B
▸Utilities	1	$9B
▸Consumer Goods	1	$3B

Price history

1 event — show timeline

• 2026-05-21 Listed $119,900 SCWMLS

Property tax history

+1.6%/yr

Latest (2024): $1,636 · +2.9% YoY. Source: county tax records.