707 Fresno Street

A 3-bedroom, 2-bath Plainview home on a 50 x 140 lot, offered at $49,000. With 1,344 square feet of living space, the price works out to about $36 per square foot, a strong fit for an investor or for a buyer who wants to build equity through updates.

A covered front porch with room for a couple of chairs opens to a living room with a ceiling fan and a big front window. It flows into a second living area that works well as a dining room, den or office. The kitchen runs along a long wall of cabinets and counter space with a gas range, dishwasher and double sink, and a built-in hutch adds storage. There's room for a breakfast table by the back windows. A central hallway leads to the three bedrooms, two of which have wood floors. Ceiling fans are in the living room, kitchen and all three bedrooms. The main bath has a tub and shower combination and a long vanity with a separate counter area. The second bath is partway through a repair, so a buyer can finish it with their own fixtures and tile.

The lot is 140 feet deep with mature trees, a 480 sq ft detached carport and a separate storage building, so there's covered parking plus room for tools and outdoor gear. The home has wood siding and a composition roof. Heating and cooling are by wall and window units, which makes a central system one of the first upgrades worth pricing out, along with paint, flooring and the finishing work in the second bath.

The location works for daily life. The house sits two blocks north of 5th Street (US 70) and a few blocks west of Columbia Street, close to restaurants, shopping and downtown Plainview, with Plainview High School about a mile away. Online rent estimates for this address run near $1,480 a month, so the numbers can work as a long-term rental after updates as well as a primary home. At this price, the purchase leaves room in the budget for the updates that add the most value.