Record legend: ✅ Confirmed · 🟡 Verify · 🔴 Critical before bidding
1. Executive summary Fact View
1842 W Main St is a ~1.2-acre former industrial warehouse on Decatur's west side, offered through a Macon County tax-deed sale at a low entry price. The low price reflects deferred maintenance, possible environmental history, and a local market where similar redevelopments have stalled. Bottom line: high-risk parcel — see Complete View (local market) and Expert View (viability score) before bidding.
2. Property facts Fact View
- FactSite: ~1.2 acres ✅
- FactBuilding: ~18,000 sq ft masonry warehouse + ~1,200 sq ft office ✅
- FactYear built: ~1968 🟡
- FactRoof: Flat built-up, ponding and patch repairs visible ✅
- FactStructure: Masonry fair; spalling at north elevation 🟡
3. Environmental red-flag screening Fact View
Prior use included light manufacturing and automotive-related storage. Not on a federal Superfund list, but Phase I ESA recommended before occupied reuse.
- FactIEPA Envirofacts: no active NFRAP on this parcel 🟡
- FactAdjacent fuel-storage parcel — migration question 🔴
- FactUST records: none on PIN; verify IEPA database 🟡
4. Zoning & entitlement Fact View
- FactBase zoning: M-1 Light Industrial ✅
- FactPermitted uses: warehouse, light mfg, contractor yard 🟡
- FactNon-conforming: West setback encroachment on old site plan 🟡
5. Title & tax-sale risk Fact View
- FactMacon County tax-deed sale; prior owner delinquent 3+ years ✅
- FactTax-deed title may require quiet-title for insurable title 🟡
- FactSold as-is, no disclosures ✅
- FactCounty sale rules: deposit, payment window, registration requirements ✅
Complete View adds full title search summary, liens & encumbrances (see §9).
6. Condition & cleanup Fact View
- FactRoof leaks in office wing; oil staining in NE warehouse bay ✅
- FactHVAC non-operational; electrical panel dated ✅
- FactDebris + basic cleanup: $8,000–$15,000 🟡
- FactFull rehab to leasable: $120k–$180k range 🟡
Complete View adds site photos, video, and in-person walkthrough notes (see §10).
7. Building code & utilities Fact View
- FactSingle-story — no elevator trigger ✅
- FactNo fire suppression; required for some uses 🟡
- FactUtilities active but delinquent — budget reconnection 🟡
8. Basic holding-cost snapshot Fact View
- FactProperty tax: ~$2,400/yr ✅
- FactMaintenance / security: ~$1,800/yr ✅
- FactAnnual floor: ~$4,200/yr before insurance & improvements
Expert View adds full multi-year holding-cost model with insurance, capex, and carry scenarios (see §15).
9. Title search & liens Complete View
- CompleteOpen mortgage satisfied at sale; confirm no surviving junior liens 🟡
- CompleteRecorded easement — utility corridor along south lot line ✅
- CompleteNo environmental covenant on deed 🟡 (recorder pull)
- CompleteAssessed value history: $142k (2019) → $89k (2024) — declining trend ✅
10. Site photos & walkthrough Complete View
- CompletePhoto set: 24 images — exterior elevations, roof, interior bays, panel, street context
- CompleteWalkthrough video: 4-min site tour (office wing, warehouse floor, loading dock)
- CompleteField notes: Active roof leak in office; NE bay floor staining confirmed; fence gate unsecured
- CompleteFlood zone: Zone X (minimal flood hazard) — FEMA layer ✅
11. Property history Complete View
- CompleteOwnership chain: 3 owners since 2005; last transfer 2016 🟡
- CompletePrior use: Auto-parts distributor (2005–2016), then vacant ✅
- CompleteCode violations: None open on file 🟡
12. Local market & demand Complete View
Market reality check: demand in this submarket is weaker than headline vacancy rates suggest.
- CompleteTwo similar properties in this area were purchased in the last 2 years — neither project materialized; both remain stalled or vacant ✅
- CompleteComparable demolition: A property in similar condition to this one was demolished last year — a signal that reuse economics did not pencil ✅
- CompleteDecatur industrial vacancy ~8–12% in submarket 🟡
- CompleteComparable warehouse lease: $4.50–$6.00/sf NNN 🟡
- CompleteVacant insurance guidance: $3,500–$5,000/yr estimated 🟡
13. Full holding-cost model Expert View
- ExpertYear 1 all-in carry: ~$7,700–$9,200 (tax + insurance + maintenance + security)
- ExpertYear 1–3 scenario: hold vacant vs. minimal rehab vs. full lease-up
- ExpertBreak-even lease rate after $140k rehab: ~$5.25/sf NNN 🟡
14. Possibility / best-use Expert View
- ExpertBest fit: owner-user contractor yard or small logistics hub after roof + floor work
- ExpertWeak fit: residential (zoning + env), self-storage (saturated locally)
- ExpertExit scenarios: hold & lease, flip after pad-ready cleanup, or owner-occupy
15. Viable investment? Expert View
Go / no-go: Leaning no-go for most investor profiles — only consider if you are an owner-user with rehab capital and a specific operational use, and bid well below rehab-adjusted value.
- ExpertInvestment viability score: 20% — low probability this property delivers a viable return on typical tax-deed investor assumptions 🔴
- ExpertRisk score: 8 / 10 — weak local demand, failed comps, demolition precedent
- ExpertSuggested bid range: $18,000–$28,000 only if Phase I clears and use is owner-occupier 🟡
- ExpertWalk-away price: above $32,000 for investment-oriented buyers; market does not support higher
16. Verify-before-you-bid checklist Expert View
- Expert[ ] 🔴 Deed/title — liens, easements, recorded restrictions
- Expert[ ] 🔴 IEPA records + Phase I ESA scope
- Expert[ ] Confirm PIN, acreage, sale date & payment terms
- Expert[ ] City zoning confirmation for intended use
- Expert[ ] Utility reconnection + back-bills
- Expert[ ] Vacant commercial insurance quote
- Expert[ ] Roof structural assessment
Expert View includes a 30-minute strategy consult call to walk through this checklist before you bid.
17. Public-record sources Fact View
- FactMacon County GIS / recorder
- FactIllinois EPA Envirofacts
- FactCity of Decatur zoning map
- FactCounty tax-deed sale listing