On the other hand, my dad was a contractor, and he often pointed out to me that pre-war brick homes were built to last, much more so than homes constructed these days.

So, while you might face some unexpected issues, you at least wouldn't face intentionally designed impermanence.

Just as a quick example, masonry porches built to today's standards won't last longer than 20 or 30 years before the bricks start to decompose and crumble. This is because building codes allow porches to be filled with sand or earth before being topped with concrete. That technique dramatically reduces the cost of building a porch, but also dramatically reduces its expected lifespan compared to hollow porches with ventilation slots in the walls.

The hollow porch was the pre-War construction standard, and many such homes today have only ever needed minor porch maintenance, compared with post-War porches that must be replaced relatively often.

And that's just one such standard. Roofs, masonry walls, driveway slab work, and basement drainage are other examples where pre-War homes were built to last compared to today's homes.

Again, that doesn't mean an older home would never deal you unpleasant surprises, but it's something to do think about, especially when the home was constructed of brick prior to WW2.