Multifamily built in 1930s or 1940s

[Ben M.]

Looking at getting my next 2-4 unit property in Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. I am seeing some built in 1930s and 1940s. They seem to be fixed up but based on the age of the property what would be some things to look out for before pursuing these types of properties

[Nathan Grabau]

MEP (Mechanical, Electric, Plumbing) trade work. Most likely none of that is original any more, but if any of it is, I would be prepared financially for it to go out. I would personally not replace it(old drain lines for example) until it failed or was needing to be fixed consistently. That probably is another question of what does it cost to fix it. Do you have easy basement access to some of these things or if an issue happened are you tearing everything out to the studs. If you have the right Real Estate Agent they should have good perspective on this. 

I would also look at the age of other major items like the roof, HVAC's, and hot water heaters. When a hot water heater is over 10 years old or an HVAC is over 20 years old, the likelihood that it goes out increases dramatically. Roof's are a little more gray and some can last a really long time and others won't, depending on the design and quality of work. 

I would not run away from this though just because of the age. My "easiest" property so far has been an updated triplex house conversion that was originally built in the 1890s.