Character Home, Renovated, Garage, Finished Basement, Lake Access
1940 Prudenville Cottage, Double Lot, Massive Garage, Near the Lake — $119,900
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 | 1940 cottage, double lot, massive garage, full basement, near lake in Northern Michigan |
| Condition | 25% | 8 | Move-in ready; new windows, kitchen, doors, carpet, drywall, trim — no system dates but extensive cosmetic renovation documented |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 7 | Listing $105/sqft vs zip median $156/sqft (thin, 8 comps) — ~33% below; directional but meaningful |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 8 | $119,900 vs $277,080 zip median — 57% below; median likely skewed by lakefront/acreage sales |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 7 | DOM 46 days, sale-to-list 95.9%, price drops 36.4% — mixed signals, leaning buyer-favorable |
The garage is the first thing to reckon with. It's big enough for a boat, a snowmobile, an ATV, and still leave room to work. In lake country, that's not incidental — it's half the reason you're up here. The house itself is a 1940 cottage at 1,144 square feet, two bedrooms, one bath, and the kind of scale that works fine for a couple or a small family who plans to spend most of their time outside anyway.
The interior has been gone through. New windows, new exterior doors, new carpet, fresh drywall and trim, paint throughout. The kitchen got new cabinets, countertops, sink, faucet, and tile backsplash. No dates on the mechanicals, which is worth asking about, but the cosmetic work is documented and visible. It reads as a house someone wanted to use, not one they were patching to sell. Whether the bones underneath the renovation hold up is a question for an inspector.
Below the house is a full, unfinished basement. More storage, or a project for someone who wants to add living space over time. The double lot runs to 0.34 acres, which is a decent footprint for a residential street in Northern Michigan. Room for a garden, room for the kids, room to park things.
The price lands at $105 per square foot. The zip median is $156. That gap is real, though with only eight comps and a market likely tilted by lakefront and acreage sales, the comparison comes with a caveat. The house has been sitting 46 days with a price drop, which puts some negotiating room on the table.
Prudenville is Houghton Lake country. Boating, fishing, snowmobiling in winter. This is a place built around seasonal recreation, and this house is set up for exactly that. At this price, you get a renovated cottage you can use immediately, a garage big enough to store everything that goes with the lifestyle, and a yard large enough to actually breathe in.
