Can this property be rehabbed?

[Mark Hu]

My family presently owns a 5 unit building. It originally was a large house built @ 1949. It probably has been subdivided for the last thirty years. It is in a very good location (near the beach) but it is a great deal of trouble.

The electrical system is working but very old, and underpowered.

The water supply is a mix of all kinds of improvisations, but the basis is galvanized pipe, which of course is a ***** to work on.

The drainage is also a mix of old and new, but whenever I work on some of the old stuff I usually get unpleasant surprises.

For the roof, a contractor told me he could not give me a fair estimate to replace it because he did not know what 'surprises' he might find when he took the roof off, since the house was so old.

For the siding and windows, I've been hustling around repairing moisture leaks for years, and I seem to be catching up on them.

For the framing, who knows?

Does anyone have an opinion as to whether this place can be rehabbed? Some in the family want to keep the place forever. Myself, since I work on it, I favor tearing it down in a couple of years. But am I being too pessimistic?