Home inspection in Braham.

What we see in Braham homes.

Braham's post office opened in 1891, and the Great Northern Railway built its station in 1899, which is why the town's older grid follows the rail line. The city was named by railroad officials and covers about 1.6 square miles, with 1,769 residents and 768 housing units in 2020. Highways 65 and 107 are the main routes through town, and the first Friday in August is Pie Day. The housing is what a small rail town produces: early-1900s houses near the tracks, postwar homes from the middle of the century, and a scattering of newer houses.

Early-1900s houses come with a specific list. Stone, block or brick foundations and basement moisture, floor framing, older wiring and panels, plumbing materials, single-pane windows, and chimneys are the things to watch. Knob-and-tube wiring may still be found in a house that is genuinely pre-1950. Postwar houses get sewer laterals, electrical capacity, attic insulation and ventilation, and roof condition. Because the town is small, drainage on the lot is worth attention, as is whether a house is on city services or its own well and septic.

Local facts checked September 2026 against: Wikipedia, west2k.com.