Historic, Finished Basement
1936 Escanaba House with Hardwood Floors, Finished Basement, and 65-Year Owner — $119,000
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 | 1936 build, 1635 sqft, hardwood floors, finished basement with bath, walkable location |
| Condition | 25% | 7 | 65-year single owner, described as great condition; hardwood under carpet; systems unknown |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 8 | Listing $73/sqft vs zip median $116/sqft — 37% below; 5 comps, directional but meaningful |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 8 | $119K vs $188,944 zip median — approximately 37% below median |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 5 | DOM 31 days, 98.7% sale-to-list, 19.8% price drops — balanced to mildly buyer-friendly |
The thing that stops you here is the math. Escanaba's zip median sale price sits around $189,000. This house is listed at $119,000. That's a $70,000 gap on a 1936 house with 1,635 square feet, hardwood floors under the carpet, and a full finished basement with its own full bath. At $73 a square foot against a zip median of $116, you're looking at a real number, not a rounding error.
The hardwood floors are worth lingering on. They're under carpet in the living room and two of the upstairs bedrooms, which means someone put carpet over them and left them alone. That's usually good news. Floors that get covered tend to be in better shape than floors that get refinished six times. Pull the carpet and you likely have something worth keeping.
The finished basement adds meaningful usable space. A full bath down there means it can work as a bedroom, a guest suite, a home office with a door that closes. With three beds and two baths already on paper, a family has room to actually live here without immediately tripping over each other.
The house has had one owner for 65 years. That's not a guarantee of good condition, but it's a data point. Long single-owner homes tend to go one of two ways: deferred everything, or steady maintenance by someone who treated it as home rather than investment. The listing describes great condition. The systems are unknown from the data available, so the usual due diligence applies, and it's worth going in with eyes open on a 1936 build.
Location puts you two blocks from Escanaba Area High School and close to Holy Name Catholic School. Walkable by the neighborhood's own terms.
The downside is the unknown systems. Heating, electrical, plumbing on an 88-year-old house that hasn't changed hands in 65 years could be fine or could be the first thing you spend money on. Budget for the inspection and then some.
What $119,000 buys you is a solid older house with real floors, a finished lower level, and room for three people to spread out in a market where comparable finished space runs considerably more.
