What’s the baseline for age of a home

Memphis, Tennessee
Buying & Selling Real Estate
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What’s the baseline for age of a home

Landon Martin
Wholesaler · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 1 vote

I’m a new investor looking to start a brrrr rental portfolio through section 8. I’m curious as to what drives people away from properties. I’m mainly curious of the age of the home. How old is too old?

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James JonesPro Member
Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 734 votes
9h

Landon, I would not set a hard age cutoff. Most of my 236 Memphis houses are older single-family homes, and age alone does not tell you whether the numbers work. What matters is the rehab: I budget around $40,000 on a typical deal, and I look for the work that actually moves the ARV, like turning a 2-bedroom, 1-bath into a 3-bedroom, 1-bath or a 3-bedroom, 1-bath into a 4-bedroom, 2-bath. Buy under $100,000, ARV $180,000 to $265,000, rent $1,395 to $1,950 for a 3-bedroom on Section 8, and the rent has to cover vacancy, repairs, CapEx, property management, taxes, insurance, and the DSCR payment at 70 to 80% LTV. If the rehab is scoped right and the rent still passes the 1% rule, an older house is fine. If it does not, I pass, whatever year it was built.

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  • Flores MarcusPro Member
    Investor · TX · Member since 2025 · 45 posts · 7 votes
    1d

    Landon let’s connect. I do have some few recommendations that might help.

    0Reply
  • Ametria Chaney
    Realtor · Memphis, Shelby County · Member since 2026 · 395 posts · 135 votes
    1d

    Great question, Landon — and welcome to the Memphis market. Age alone doesn't make a house too old; condition and the cost to get it rent-ready do. Here in Memphis, plenty of 1950s–1970s homes rent well when they've been maintained, and plenty of newer ones don't.

    What pushes me away is a roof, HVAC, plumbing, or electrical system at the end of its life with no budget to replace it. Those are the items that turn a deal upside down, especially on a BRRRR, where your refinance depends on the appraisal coming back strong.

    For Section 8, remember the home also has to pass an inspection, so an older home needs to be truly habitable, not just standing. My advice: get a thorough inspection, price the big-ticket items honestly, and don't let a low purchase price hide a big repair bill. What's the oldest home you're looking at right now?

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  • Noah WrightBusiness Member
    USA, Nationwide · Member since 2024 · 475 posts · 150 votes
    1d

    The build year rarely kills a deal on its own, but whether the house can be insured at a sane price can. Asking this before you have money tied up in one is the right order. Plenty of carriers get picky or pricey on older homes with original wiring, an aging roof or galvanized pipes. That premium goes straight into the payment a DSCR lender measures the rent against on your refinance, so a high quote can shrink the cash you pull back out. The second cost is paint. For Section 8, a pre-1978 house where a child under 6 will live usually has to have any chipped or peeling paint stabilized with lead-safe work practices before it passes, and that labor is easy to leave out of a rehab budget. Have you priced insurance on one of the houses you're looking at yet?

    [email protected]737-773-3717
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  • BJ Everson
    Realtor · Columbus, Franklin County · Member since 2026 · 170 posts · 67 votes
    1d

    1. @landonm77 Landon, age matters less than what's been replaced. On any older rental I'd price these systems one by one:

    • Roof age and condition

    • Furnace and AC age

    • Electrical: panel brand and capacity, and any knob-and-tube left

    • Plumbing: galvanized supply lines, and a camera scope of the main sewer line

    • Foundation and water management (grading, gutters, basement moisture) For Section 8, houses built before 1978 bring lead-based paint rules, and inspectors look closely at chipped or peeling paint, so budget for paint work. A 1920s house with a newer roof, updated electrical and a newer furnace can be a better rental than a 1985 house with everything original. Before you buy, get the housing authority's payment standard and its inspection checklist, and price the rehab line by line against them. What year-built and price range are you seeing in your target areas?

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  • Kyle Jones
    Chicago, Cook County · Member since 2026 · 45 posts · 19 votes
    11h

    Age scares people because

    of what you can't see.

    Two things I'd add to the

    list already here:

    - Scope the sewer line on

    older houses. A camera

    costs little. A collapsed

    clay line costs a lot.

    - Ask for proof of what was

    replaced. Receipts, permit

    history, dates on the

    water heater and furnace.

    - "Updated" in a listing can

    mean paint. Look at the

    panel, pipes and roof

    yourself before trusting it.

    - Look for settling. Doors

    that stick and cracks over

    windows can point to the

    foundation.

    Kyle

    0Reply
  • James JonesPro Member
    Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 734 votes
    9h

    Landon, I would not set a hard age cutoff. Most of my 236 Memphis houses are older single-family homes, and age alone does not tell you whether the numbers work. What matters is the rehab: I budget around $40,000 on a typical deal, and I look for the work that actually moves the ARV, like turning a 2-bedroom, 1-bath into a 3-bedroom, 1-bath or a 3-bedroom, 1-bath into a 4-bedroom, 2-bath. Buy under $100,000, ARV $180,000 to $265,000, rent $1,395 to $1,950 for a 3-bedroom on Section 8, and the rent has to cover vacancy, repairs, CapEx, property management, taxes, insurance, and the DSCR payment at 70 to 80% LTV. If the rehab is scoped right and the rent still passes the 1% rule, an older house is fine. If it does not, I pass, whatever year it was built.

    1Reply
  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 13k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    1h

    It's not the age of the house, it's the age of the systems.

    If you go to the northeast, there are 200 year old houses selling for millions.

    Why would someone pay millions for a house that was "too old"?

    [email protected]248-209-6824
    Logical Property Management4.9465 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
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  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    1h

    in 2011, I bought the oldest home in the southern Appalachians - circa 1820. It was right near downtown Gatlinburg. It rented very well before it burned to the ground 6 years later. I miss that old place.

    [email protected]806-672-7102
    SMOKY MOUNTAIN FALLS INC.51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
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