Older home buying opportunity

[Anthony Cote]

Hello,

I'm in my late 20's and live in British Columbia, Canada, and for the past couple of weeks I have seriously been thinking of buying my first home. I only have about $60000 CAD in cash and the house I want is approximately $50000 CAD. The house was built in 1920 but has had a few renovations since.

My question is that do you feel I am rushing in to this? 

The cash I currently have is essentially my life savings and I do not want a mortgage. On the positive side, I feel that if I can buy this thing whole and stick with it for a year or so (renovating along the way), I will have a solid foundation for a real estate career. It will also cut off my biggest expense (rent) and also bring in rental income. Banks will not typically lend for a home such as this for various reasons, and I do not mind as I do have the cash for it.

On the negative side, I do not know what to expect in regards with initial repairs, and being a 100 year old home there are bound to be more problems down the road. My biggest fear is that there will be some very expensive repairs that an appraiser will not pick up (i.e. lots of mold in the walls and roof, lead paint issues, plumbing needs a complete redo, etc.) and push me well over my initial budget to maybe double or triple what I pay for. I do expect repairs as this is a very cheap home, but I am wondering if it is worth it really and do not want to get stuck with an old burden home for years.

My other option is to wait another year and search for a newer home without large potential repairs. I could tough it out and just buy it with an open mind but would like to hear from you first for some guidance. I rather avoid a disaster if I can.

Thanks!