608 Elm St

Villa Grove, IL 61956

$14,900D

2 bd · 1.0 ba · 858 sqft · Built 1904 · SingleFamily · Active · 29 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $855/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$78
• Tax + insurance: −$25
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$180
• Net cashflow: $573/mo
• Annual: $6,874/yr
• Cap rate: 52.43%
• Cash-on-cash: 164.77%
• DSCR: 8.33
• 1% rule: 5.74%
• Cash to close: $4,172

Investor read

• This is a 2-bed/1.0-bath single-family listed at $15k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $573 ($7k/yr) — positive.
• The deal already cash-flows at list — no discount required.
• Meets the 1% rule at list price ($855 rent vs $15k).
• It's been on market 29 days — a 2% lower offer ($15k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $15k (1.5% below list) — sets the bar for market timing.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $103 of loan paydown is wiped out by about $447 of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 64/100 on livability (#713 in IL) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: cost of living A+, crime A, housing A; Watch: employment D, schools D-, amenities F.
• Villa Grove CUSD 302 (rural): math 15% / reading 19% proficiency, ranked #464 of 620 in IL (top 75%) — low school quality limits family demand, transient renter base, plan for 1-2y turnover.
• Watch-outs: built in 1904 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 10 active listings in the ZIP; 36 units permitted in Douglas County in 2024 (0 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Douglas County population projected to shrink 7% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• 3 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.
• At projected returns (-3.0% appreciation + 3.0% rent growth), your $4k cash investment doubles in ~1 year — after that, you're playing with house money.

Questions for listing agent

• Built in 1904 — when were the roof, HVAC, electrical panel, plumbing, and water heater last replaced?
• 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.
• 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.