1908 Crosby Home, Rebuilt Top to Bottom, Original Woodwork Intact — $139,000

The thing about this house is that someone already did the hard part. Built in 1908, it has the original woodwork still in place, which at 116 years old means it survived every renovation impulse that could have stripped it out. That alone is worth paying attention to.

But the bigger story is what happened in the last five years. Roof, siding, windows, furnace, central air, hot water heater, plumbing, electrical, attic insulation, basement walls. That is the whole list of things that make older houses expensive to own, and here they are done. New 200-amp electrical service too, and the home is already wired for a Generac generator if you want one. A Broan whole-house air exchanger and a whole-house humidifier went in about two years ago.

The house itself is 756 square feet with one bedroom and one bath. Small, but the footprint is honest and the systems underneath it are in better shape than most houses built forty years later. Updated flooring and lighting round out the main level.

The basement is where it gets a little interesting. The concrete floors are finished with a metallic epoxy coating, which looks sharp and holds up. There is a toilet and sink already installed, and the plumbing is roughed in for a tub and shower. Someone started turning it into usable space and left it at a logical stopping point. Finishing it would give you a second bath, maybe more depending on how you configure it.

Out back there is a large yard with a six-foot privacy fence. An attached one-car garage handles parking and storage.

At 756 square feet above grade, this is a small house. But the woodwork is original, every major system has been replaced within five years, and the basement is ready for someone to take it the rest of the way. For $139,000 in Crosby, you are buying a house that has already been through its expensive years.