1900-Built Joppa House on a Half-Acre with Big Covered Porch — $110,000

A house built in 1900 has been standing for 124 years. That's the first thing to sit with when you look at this place in Joppa. Whatever it's been through, it's still here. Two bedrooms, one bath, 1,008 square feet. Small but not cramped in the way small houses from that era tend to be, because they were built to be lived in, not staged.

The covered back porch is large. That matters more than it sounds with a house this size, because it effectively adds usable space without adding square footage. In Alabama, a porch like that is a room for about eight months of the year. You spend time there. You eat there. It's where the house breathes.

The lot is half an acre with mature shade trees, which means the trees have been growing long enough to actually work. Shade in the South is a practical thing. These trees were probably here before anyone reading this was born.

The agent description mentions recent updates but doesn't say what they are. New roof, new wiring, new plumbing, new floors — those are very different things from each other and from fresh paint. Worth asking specifically what was done and when, and pulling any permits if they exist.

At $110,000, you're at roughly $109 per square foot. For a house this old, the question isn't whether it has history. It does. The question is what condition the bones are in underneath whatever's been updated, and whether someone has been maintaining it seriously or just keeping it presentable. A 124-year-old house can be solid. It can also be a long list of things the photos don't show.

If you're looking for something with age and a real yard and outdoor space to use, this is worth a look. Go in with a good inspector and a clear idea of what you're willing to take on.