First purchase - an old house? 1925

[Ray Fleener]

First house I toured was built in 1925. It is a Craftsman Bungalow. I personally thought it would need a gut job (quite a bit of work overall). Hypothetically, if a first time home buyer were to purchase a gut job house, what tip would you give them from your experiences? After looking at the place, my thought was to pursue something different at this time. Fort Wayne, Indiana area. I'm still learning how to run the numbers accurately, but just feel the reno numbers on a gut job on an old house might be a bit much for my first attempt. Also older houses were just built different and the unfinished basement had moisture with the track around the perimeter to drain. Thoughts on moisture in basements of old homes? I did learn from my first tour experience though. It helped me solidify my target search area and learn more about home history, boilers, etc.