Historic, Garage, Character Home
1929 Charleston Cottage with Garage, Fenced Yard, and Updated Mechanicals — $118,000
6
out of 10
HousesUnder150K Score
Property Merit 50% · Condition 25% · Price/Sq Ft 15% · Market 10%
| Category | Wt. | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Merit | 50% | 7 | 1929 cottage, 2/1, garage, fenced yard, historic character signals |
| Condition | 25% | 7 | Named updates — roof, central HVAC, replacement windows; cosmetic work remaining |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 2 | Listing $101/sqft vs. zip median $42/sqft; listing runs 2.4x above median (thin, 8 comps) |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 4 | $118K vs. $146K zip median — ~19% below median, mild discount |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 8 | Strong buyer signals: 92.7% sale-to-list, 46.5% price drops, 41-day median DOM |
The price per square foot on this one is a real consideration. At $101 per square foot, it runs more than twice the zip code median of $42. That gap is wide enough to look at carefully, and it's the honest starting point here. What you're paying for is a 1929 cottage in Charleston's West Side with some work already done: the roof has been updated, central HVAC is in, and the windows have been replaced. The mechanical and structural stuff that quietly costs you when it fails is addressed. What remains, based on the listing, is cosmetic.
The house is 1,169 square feet with two bedrooms and one bath. Small, but manageable for one person or a couple who doesn't need a lot of room. The layout of a cottage from this era tends to have defined rooms rather than one big open floor, which some people prefer. The 1929 build means plaster walls, probably wood floors under whatever is there now, and proportions that newer construction rarely replicates. Whether the original details are intact is something you'd need to see in person, because the listing is thin on that.
There's a garage out back, off-street parking, and a fenced yard. In a city neighborhood that matters. The yard gives you something to do with a dog or a garden or just some privacy, and the garage means your car is covered.
The market conditions in this zip code right now are tilted toward buyers. Nearly half of listings have taken a price cut, and homes are selling at about 93 cents on the dollar. This one has been listed for three days, so it has room to move. If you're interested, you have leverage in negotiation that you wouldn't have had a couple of years ago.
The price premium over the local median is real. But if the bones of a nearly 100-year-old cottage with updated mechanicals, a garage, and a fenced yard in a buyer's market are what you're after, this is a place worth walking through.
