The OP inherited the house from his father before he died, so his father might have lived in it for 50+ years. For all we know the house might be 100+ years old. When a house gets beyond a certain age it's often cheaper to knock it down and build a new one than fixing it.
If the OP had kept the house for another decade it might have only been fit for the wrecking ball.
lol, what is this, The Money Pit now? The Bitcoiner who bought the house presumably falling through the floorboards and shit.
I viewed a few cheap houses about 12 years ago that looked a bit rough, but not wrecking ball material. Some now have trees growing out of the chimney pots and fucking big cracks going up the walls. Thankfully I did not buy them, but some chump must have.
Building techniques have improved greatly since the turn of the century (1900s), and houses built in the past few decades should be able to hold up 100 years and far more with basic maintenance. The land they sit on will also go up in value. Real estate is generally a pretty safe investment.