Is your state one of those which require an attorney to do the title search (or whatever it is they do that makes their participation legally required)?
If so, ask the attorney.
If this was CA, I’mm guessing you are in the “contingency removal” phase - an offer has been made and accepted, CONTINGENT on the house passing inspection, your ability to finance, etc.
Since the house did not pass inspection, in CA (AIUI) there is no binding contract - only after all contingencies are removed does your agreement become a legally enforceable contract.
Stall on the current (if you have time - and if you are waiting for a response from the seller, you DO have time), inspect the other - if you like, try to get it inspected before you have to either commit to the first or the first falls apart.
If time is critical, do your own inspection - you’ll need a pocket knife and a flashlight.
First, from the curb:
Is the roof line straight? A dip in the line is a huge "walk away, or somebody needs major money sunk in it.
Doors and windows: do they operate as they should? In a multi-story, the uppermost level is where foundation problems first show up - the doors ore off-plumb and will not fit the jamb - if the gap between the door and jamb or floor is greater in one place than another, you could be looking at a serious settleing problem (all frame structures may sag a bit in one corner or side - it need not be a biggie, especially if the house is 100 years old. There is a development a couple miles north of here where the 2-storys all have misfitting doors on the upper floor.Again, bad foundation.
Is there a basement? Does it show water stains on the walls?
The knife is to jab the wood where you can find it - esp. around ground - you’re looking for rotted/termite infested wood can be fixed, but not cheaply.
Move shrubs as required, but get an eyeball on the foundation all around the house - any cracks? are they moving (gap, not level on both sides)
Any brickwork over 50 years should have the mortar checked - dried and crumbling? walk away.
I’m skipping the obvious - water stains, mis-matched paint (what happened and why didn’t they do a decent job)?
Sagging floors?
If you can see the underside of the floor: how much wood is in it? I saw am 1870’s vicky with 12’ ceilings, massive fireplaces. All on a foundation which had broken into 4 parts, and a marble placed on the hardwood would runn to the wall - that was 2 stories of 12’ wet plaster and lathe on 2x8x20 with no ties and a single center beam of two 2x8 with scrap 2x8 spacers to make it look like 3 boards wide.
The thing was a total wreck - it would runn over a million to put in a new foundation and real cross beams every 4’ or so - a 2x8 cannot carry that kind of load for far.
It did have “central heat and air conditioning” - a unit appropriate to a mobile home with a single floor grate on the first floor and a hole in the floor above it in the second floor.
I hope they at least took it apart carefully - the lumber is all but impossible to find in any species, let alone ancient growth redwood. The marble fireplace and staircase would be worth salvaging.
You may not be able to do a profession-level inspection, but you CAN find the obvious money-pit type problems.
Which brings up a question: why did it go off market and come back? Is there a recent inspection sticker anywhere? If so, contact the inspector and see if tey will sell you a copy of the report.
Good luck in a high-stress situation.