Historic, Garage, Lake Access, Finished Basement
1887 Waseca House with Beadboard Porch, Garage, and Updated Systems — $145,000
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 | 1887 build, beadboard porch, center island, walk-up attic, garage, shed, deck |
| Condition | 25% | 7 | Furnace 2019, AC 2020, water heater 2020 — systems solid; cosmetic updates needed |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 6 | Listing $143/sqft vs zip median $155/sqft — 8% below; thin data noted |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 5 | $145K vs $245,894 zip median — 41% below, but zip median skewed by larger homes |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 6 | DOM 30, sale-to-list 97.8%, price drops 34.4% — mild buyer advantage |
The porch is the first thing you notice. Beadboard ceiling, a place to sit, and the kind of detail that does not get added to new construction because nobody budgets for it anymore. This house was built in 1887, and that porch has been there a long time. It still looks good.
Inside, the layout is simple and manageable. Two bedrooms on the main floor, a living room, a kitchen with a center island, and laundry all on one level. The 3/4 bath is also on the main floor. There is a half bath in the basement and a walk-up attic that gives you real storage without a ladder or a scuttle hole. At 1,012 square feet, the floor plan is tight, but it works for one person or a couple, and it could work for a small family willing to live a little closer together.
What makes this easier to take seriously than a lot of houses in this price range is that the systems have been addressed recently. Furnace in 2019, central AC in 2020, water heater in 2020, refrigerator in 2025. Those are the things that cost you money and headache when they go, and here they have all been touched in the last six years. The cosmetic work is still yours to do, but you are not walking into a house where the furnace is twenty years old and the water heater is making sounds.
Out back there is a deck, an attached one-stall garage with alley access, and a storage shed. Clear Lake Park and a bike trail are close by, and Hartley Elementary is in the neighborhood.
At $145,000, you are at roughly $143 per square foot, which comes in below the zip code median. The broader area median is inflated by larger homes, so the comparison requires some care, but the price is still low for what the house actually is. Thirty days on market and a few price drops suggest some buyer leverage. Cosmetically, this one needs your attention. What it gives you in return is a 137-year-old house with a proper porch and a mechanical baseline you can trust.
