[planteen]

What city do you live in?

I live in Denver. Houses last way longer than 50 years here. Old houses here are quite desirable due to many of these neighborhoods proximity to downtown. The last two houses I rented were from the 1929 and 1943. They were in great shape. They were not the "old house" on the block either, both neighborhoods dated to that era.

Of course they have had several roofs in that time, but roofs don't last much longer than 15-20 years here due to hail. Siding has a limited life, but Hardie Plank which most new builds I see around here has a very long life. Brick will last basically forever along with plaster walls and hard wood floors. The foundation, framing, and plywood basically last forever if you keep it dry.

[astura]

Even the highest quality roof only lasts ~30 years at the most.

I have asphalt roll roofing which is cheap but needs to be replaced every 5-8 years.

[andrewksu]

Metal goes 100+ yrs. Doing the same thing (asphalt) and expecting different results = insanity.