Piers Without Footings?

[Joseph Henry]

I am looking at a SFH in a market close to where I live. The listing agent told me that "some of the piers in the foundation don't have footings". The house is about 1400 square feet and ~100 years old.

I understand the basics of how a pier foundation works and can guess at the consequences of this, but I'm unsure if this is closer to the "needs work" or "complete deal-breaker" category. I would get all of this inspected by a professional if I go under contract, but I would prefer to avoid the option/inspector fees if this is an obviously bad design from the get-go.

I realize this isn't a ton of information, but I can't really learn more until I make an offer. Can anyone with construction/rehab experience give their two cents?