How much does the year a house was built matter to you?

[Jonathan Shnoravorian]

Hi all,

I've been looking into some potential cash flowing rentals in various markets. I'm noticing several of these homes have been built between the years 1900-1930. Seeing how old these homes are, that personally scares me. My thought is that things I wouldn't even consider or know about could crap out and cost a fortune to replace or fix if I were to purchase homes this old (plumbing, structural, foundation, electrical, etc). Would like to hear some of your thoughts - How much weight do you hold to when your rental properties were built? 

[Joe Splitrock]

Having owned a couple buildings built in 1900, I would never buy one again. Even though they both went through substantial renovation and updates over the years, there is always some old hidden problems lurking. You may have old sewer lines, old wiring, asbestos, lead paint, rubble foundations and various things that fall short of modern code. I had just weird things that happened. That being said if it was a total gut job and everything new, it may be ok.