A house built with modern building codes is a safer investment
The most important question regarding the age of a house for investment purposes is
Was this house build before the 1960s?
Houses in the northeast are on average 50-60 years old and a house from the 60s may be outdated but is not considered old. The reason is that most of the rules in our modern building code where being put in place starting the late 50s. So by just the age of a house we know what kind of big ticket items we should look for as investors and any house built before the 1960s should be discounted accordingly. For example for a house of similar size and location I may offer $90,000 if it is from the 1920s but will offer $120,000 if it is from the 1960s.
Framing and Walls
For a house built after the 1950s we expect a standard frame construction with 2x4s in the interior and exterior walls and houses built after the 1980s especially higher end ones may use 2x6 framed exterior walls. From this we know that there is at least some insulation in the exterior walls, probably fiberglass.
On the other hand for a house build in the 1940s and before we can expect all sort of surprises. Original walls covered by plaster are not easy to repair, they form cracks, it is a pain to pass electrical or plumbing though and there is always a surprise hiding behind them. Exterior walls may not have insulation and for some reason I have seen water supply lines running along exterior walls (in the northeast!)
Water service lines
Copper service lines where available since the 1920s but became commonplace after the 1950s and in some inexpensive construction you may find plastics. Pretty much any house built after 1960 will have all copper. Copper lines will last for a very long time unless someone managed to make a battery by having two different metals touch, so look for that.
Drain pipes
In most houses built before the 1970s at least the drain main stack will be cast iron. That is a problem since it corrodes so check it out in the basement.
Electrical
Any house built between the late 1950s and 70s will have wires in metallic conduits and should be in good condition. Some houses in the 70s used a kind of wire that can catch fire but I guess any house with this kind of problem already burned down. Newer houses will have a Romex type wire in the walls and will use conduits anywhere outside the walls. I would definitely have an electrician check out any house built before the 50s unless I know that the electrical system was replaced.
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