Age of the property for buy & hold investment

[Ajay K.]

Hello Gurus, 

When purchasing investment property how much does the age of the property matter for buy & hold investment ? Should properties built earlier than 1971 be avoided due to issues like lead paint, asbestos, septic tank etc.? I noticed that it's not uncommon that investors buy almost 100 yr old properties. How much of long term expenses or maintenance costs should I anticipate? What do I need to look for when considering investing into these older properties? Please advice & thanks in advance.