There can be a lot of charm in an older house if it's structurally sound. The house I live in was built in 1902, and it's a nice old house. We actually back dated the parlor to give it the original Victorian look. All of the original woodwork is still in this house, and most of it is still in good condition.
I love the old charm sadly due to borer we have had to remove some of the old features. I will try and replace with more of the same.
I understand that, we had to rebuild the front porch on this house due to carpenter ants.