As long as the roof and structure are solid the house should last with regular maintenance.However, old houses feature such problems as lead paint, plaster walls, lead solder in water pipes, cranky plumbing fixtures, no insulation, asbestos insulation, leaky windows, and so forth.However, I've got two houses 70+ years old and when fixed up they are very charming.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;To borrow money on the credit of the United States;To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;To establish post offices and post roads;To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;To provide and maintain a navy;To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;--AndTo make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

The seller is very interested in selling to me specifically (charm?)

Start with a fire suppression system, then move on the the HVAC for a HEPA system and individual themostates.

They should have sold when they were in a more down market, then they could have moved into the more expensive, yet also price suppressed home.  

There's so much charm in some of these homes and neighborhoods that pictures just can't show.  

Talk is cheap - look at his credentials before investing in a mentor.Be smart about what you do and who you work with - you can look at listed real estate but your best deal is going to come from dealing directly with sellers.Also remember creative financing techniques - nothing down deals - Control and Roll System - Delayed Settlements - Hybrid offers - and don't forget owner assisted financing and make sure you always ask for a principal mortgage.Have fun - make full disclosures and make sure you understand the laws related to mortgage foreclosures - fail to do this and you may have a paid vacation to the Gray Bar Motel (a nice little room with one small window and the food is free, but the space is restricted).Remember your goal should be CASH FLOW or EQUITY - forget the emotional appeal - it is all about numbers - understand them and you'll do well in Charm City.Charles Parrish

This hurts you at re-sale, and, subsequently, suppresses appreciation.Lastly, in the interest of being technical, my understanding is that condos and co-ops are two different animals from a legal standpoint.

The whole South Hill is pretty solid as far as I know (although I'm less familiar with that part of town) - they have older homes and charming streets.

One could keep the external historic charm, but modernize the internal layout.It would be a shame to see it sit empty - but this time, unloved - for another decade, but I do not readily see a profitable way to save it.