Historic, Garage, Farmhouse, Finished Basement
1887 Ruthven Farmhouse, 4BR on 0.43 Acres with Double Garage — $129,900
7
out of 10
HousesUnder150K Score
Property Merit 50% · Condition 25% · Price/Sq Ft 15% · Market 10%
| Category | Wt. | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Merit | 50% | 8 | 1887 farmhouse, 4BR/2BA, 1594 sqft, 0.43 acres, double garage, character woodwork, spacious porch |
| Condition | 25% | 7 | Several recent updates named; plumbing/electrical updated; systems not fully dated; solid basement |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 6 | Listing $82/sqft vs zip median $76/sqft — slightly above median; thin data (8 comps) |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 4 | $129,900 is ~14% below zip median $150,956; modest discount |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 7 | DOM 84 days, sale-to-list 92.2% — meaningful buyer's market signal in this zip |
The woodwork is the first thing you notice. In a house this old, the trim and millwork are usually long gone, painted over a dozen times, or replaced with something flat and cheap. Here it's intact, and that alone makes 1887 worth paying attention to.
The house is 1,594 square feet across two floors, with four bedrooms and two baths. The main floor master with a full bath is a real convenience in a layout this age. Most farmhouses from this era put everything upstairs and leave you climbing stairs for the rest of your life. Three more bedrooms sit on the upper level with a three-quarter bath. The kitchen and dining area share the main floor, open to each other. There's a side porch big enough to actually use, the kind where boots and coats go, where you can sit in the morning.
The lot is 0.43 acres at a corner, which gives you room in multiple directions. Double-car garage. The basement is cement and described as solid. Plumbing and electrical have been updated, exterior paint is recent, and the garage roof is new. That's a reasonable list of recent work for a house this old, though the listing doesn't date all the systems, so it's worth asking.
At $82 per square foot, you're slightly above the zip median of $76, though the data is thin with only eight comparable sales. Against the zip's median price of around $151,000, the ask of $129,900 is about 14% lower. The house has been on the market 84 days, and comparable sales in this zip are closing around 92 cents on the dollar. There's room to negotiate.
What you're paying for here is a 137-year-old farmhouse with its character still showing, on nearly half an acre, with a garage and a porch and a main-floor bedroom. What you're taking on is a house that old, which always comes with questions no listing fully answers. The price gives you room to find out.
