1080 Cardinal Dr S

Lake Zurich, IL 60047

$549,900D-

3 bd · 1.5 ba · 2,113 sqft · Built 1954 · SingleFamily · Active · 46 DOM

Cashflow @ list (25.0% down · 7.5%)

• Estimated rent: $3,805/mo
• Mortgage (P&I): −$2,884
• Tax + insurance: −$1,115
• HOA: −$0
• Vac / Maint / Mgmt: −$799
• Net cashflow: $-992/mo
• Annual: $-11,908/yr
• Cap rate: 4.13%
• Cash-on-cash: -7.73%
• DSCR: 0.66
• 1% rule: 0.69%
• Cash to close: $153,972

Investor read

• This is a 3-bed/1.5-bath single-family listed at $550k.
• At list price, monthly cash flow is $-992 ($-12k/yr) — negative.
• To cash-flow at today's rent, offer at most $375k (31.9% below list).
• To meet the 1% rule (rent ≥ 1% of price), the offer needs to be $381k (30.8% below list).
• It's been on market 46 days — a 3% lower offer ($533k) is reasonable based on typical stale-listing flexibility.
• Recommended offer: $375k (31.9% below list) — sets the bar for cash-flow.
• Local home prices are declining (-3.0%/yr); year-one equity from $4k of loan paydown is wiped out by about $16k of value loss. Plan a longer hold.
• Location reads 76/100 on livability (#175 in IL, #3,345 nationally) — a middle-class / working-renter tenant base. Strengths: crime A+, employment A+, housing A+; Watch: health & safety C-, amenities F, commute F.
• Lake Zurich CUSD 95 (suburban): math 47% / reading 47% proficiency, ranked #44 of 620 in IL (top 7%) — families likely to look elsewhere, expect single-tenant / working-renter base with shorter leases; only 10% free/reduced lunch — higher-income household profile.
• Zoned schools: May Whitney Elem School (math 45% / reading 37%, grade F, #372 of 2,056 statewide, top 18%, 657 students, 0% FRL); Lake Zurich Middle - S Campus (math 41% / reading 50%, grade D+, #89 of 665 statewide, top 14%, 599 students, 0% FRL); Lake Zurich High School (math 54% / reading 58%, grade C, #25 of 693 statewide, top 4%, 1,804 students, 0% FRL).
• Watch-outs: built in 1954 — expect roof / HVAC / electrical / plumbing capex.
• Market conditions: 164 active listings in the ZIP; 3 comparable units currently listed for rent nearby; rentals leasing fast (median 1d on market — plan ~1-2 weeks tenant-placement turnaround); high-income renter base; 948 units permitted in Lake County in 2024 (424 in 5+ unit buildings).
• Lake County population projected to shrink 8% by 2050 — rents likely to lag national; underwrite the cash flow, not the appreciation.
• 2 sale attempts 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.
• Current owner paid $324k; list at $550k implies a 69% gain — meaningful room to come down on a strong offer.

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 46 days. Have you received any prior offers? Is the seller open to a 32% concession, seller financing, or rate buy-down credit?
• Built in 1954 — 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 B-rated — typically a magnet for longer-tenancy family renters. What's the average tenant stay here, and is there a school-zone premium baked into asking?
• 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.