# Asbestos



## Becka

Would you buy a home that has asbestos siding and possibly some other asbestos building materials? We've found a home we like in our price range, but it has asbestos siding. We would not be "disturbing" the siding, as in adding on or anything. My main concern is that the house is 80 years old and I'm wondering if the asbestos could pose a health risk to us and our kids.


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## jill.costello

Becka,
Unless I were paying CASH for the property, I wouldn't be ABLE to buy it because alot of lenders won't LEND on a house with that much Asbestos. (you can't go FHA or VA for sure).

That said, you could offer the seller a deal; something like "I'll pay $4000. more than you're asking if you replace the siding prior to closing". You should ask your realtor about work-arounds like that.


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## jill.costello

I forgot to add; YES I would feel safe living in a house sided with asbestos siding, and even if it had asbestos tile ceilings. As long as asbstos isn't in a state of disrepair, it isn't as volatile as some might think. I would simply make it my 1st priority to replace/remodel as rapidly as my finances allowed after I bought it.


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## Gianni

I grtew up in such a house. The danger with asbestos is loose particles, referred to as "friable". They are sharp and can take as long as 8 hours to settle from 6 feet to the floor. As such they can be inhaled and do damage to lung tissue. i would agree to arrange for the sellers to remove.


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## starjj

If you are going to buy it please be aware that the cost of asbestos removel is really high. Has to be done a certain way and disposed of a certain way


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## Helena

Also, grew up in a house with this type of siding. No ill effects as of..yet. When we sold my Dad's house 3 years ago it got a mortgage for the new owners with no problems. It was never even mentioned when selling it and sold the house with no problems and at full amount of asking price. As long as it is in good repair there shouldn't be a problem. It is out in the open air so I would think it would pose no threat. Good LUck


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## DoubleBee

The siding probably would not pose a risk. As stated, it must be friable to be a serious risk. As long as you aren't breaking it up, you should be ok. What is the other asbestos in the house? 
My husband has worked in asbestos removal for 25 years. 
We have a small amount of floor tile in our house (9 inch, old tile is usually asbestos), and he just covered over it with vinyl tile.
Sometimes just covering, painting or otherwise encapsulating is all that's needed. Depending on how hot and friable it is.
and yes, removal is expensive. Here homeowners can remove their own, but I don't know how they'd dispose of it. It has to go an approved landfill and be removed, bagged and tagged properly.


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## Becka

DoubleBee, the other asbestos is in the insulation used under the house for the furnace. There is a "tape" of material used against the ductwork around the furnace and the home inspection report says this may contain asbestos. I'm not sure what kind of insulation used for heating units would contain asbestos, but the inspector recommended it be tested. I have no idea what this would cost and I'm not sure I want to deal with it. The heating unit is separate from the air conditioning unit, is located under the house, and is at least 20 years old. I would appreciate any advice your husband might have about this.

The price is good on this home, but we're wondering if it would be worth the hassle of replacing this furnace within a couple of years.


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## DoubleBee

Hubby says tape, duct insulation and mastic containing asbestos can be serious because the insulation part is most likely friable.
He suggests having an asbestos removal service (or 2) come out and give a removal quote on it, then ask for that amount to be taken off the sale price, or better yet, have the seller remove it before you buy it. Make sure the person looking at does a thorough job. Most times when they go to remove it, there's more there than meets the eye. Hate to say it, but if the home is old enough to have asbestos, it probably has lead paint too.
Just a tip.. sometimes they will want to just "encapsulate" asbestos, meaning they spray an encapsulating glue type material over it. Don't let them do that. Remove it now so it doesn't become your headache (and expense) later on when it has to be removed to replace a furnace or ducts.


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## Reauxman

As far as lending goes, unless it's mentioned in the Purchase agreement, the lender would likely never know. Most appraisers are not in the inspection business and don't know enough about asbestos to call it.


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## Becka

Thanks for all the advice. We're going to look at the house again this evening, but dh is pretty adamant that if there is asbestos under the house, we're not going to fool with buying it. The real estate agent has already given us a sob story that the owner paid X for the house, put a lot of work into it, and will be taking a loss at the new "reduced" price. So I really doubt she will want to pay to have the asbestos removed.


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## francismilker

If there's even a remote chance you will be made by city, state, or any form of govt. to remove the asbestos I'd run as far away from the deal as I could. Asbestos abatement is extremely expensive and could bankrupt about all of us. 

I would'nt be afraid to live in a house with asbestos. I wouldn't recommend disturbing it though.


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## legacy

I agree with francismilker. Just forget this property. You are in an uphill battle the day you buy it. If, for whatever reason -- just make one up -- you ever had to have the asbestos removed, the expense would be murderous.

Lenders will not finance such a property unless the land itself is worth more -- considerably more -- than the dwelling. That should tell you something.


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## Becka

Well, we looked at the house again last night. Real estate agent says we could put vinyl siding on the house for a couple thousand $$ to effectively cover the asbestos siding as long as we didn't want to remodel sometime in the future. She seemed to think covering it wouldn't "disturb" it and might protect it from becoming friable. Is this true?

My question is, would we at some point be required by law to get rid of the asbestos siding completely and have a huge headache on our hands. There are many rural properties here in WV with asbestos siding and so far I haven't seen/heard of any government rules to completely get rid of it, so I don't know. In our town I'd say ALL the houses are 80-plus years old. We're talking lead paint, asbestos, possibly lead pipes, you name it. The house we live in currently had electrical problems last year. The electricians found and replaced some of the original wiring that was 80 years old! Major fire hazard!

Sigh. I can't afford new and everything around here is old.


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## Guest

I'm with those that say avoid the potential headaches this house could bring . It must be an awful small house if you could cover it with vinyl siding for a couple thousand $'s . You might also want to consider what is going to happen if you ever want to sell this house . A real-estate agent will likely downplay the negatives & associated repair costs in hopes of getting their commission .
If you really , really , really want this house , at least get reliable estimates for asbestos removal & new siding & insulation & deduct that amount from the asking price . It could very well be more than the house is worth .


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## ChristieAcres

I worked with Appraisers, due to being a Loan Officer for five years. For VA Loans, the Appraisal Inspection is required. For FHA, the same. The home must meet specific Guidelines, and "asbestos" and "lead paint" is always called out. Standard Appraisals are not the same and don't include the same Guidelines. These are used for other loan types. Yes, the home could be financed by a Lender.

Since I am also a Real Estate Agent, I'd be advising my Client, if he/she were buying a home with asbestos, to request all asbestos removed by Seller prior to Closing. This is no different than asking for repairs to be made prior to Closing. Any repair/replacement request can be made to come out of Seller's net proceeds at Closing. I wouldn't recommend buying the home otherwise. I would then be fulfilling my fidiciary responsibility to my Client. I myself wouldn't be comfortable advising anything else. That is my opinion, however.


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## Wylie Kyote

Hi Becka. As a retired builder I would advise not to expose your children or yourself to asbestos under any circumstances. The international standard for friable asbestos is no greater than 4 microns per cubic meter of air. (About 1.1 cubic yards) There is a definite danger with the asbestos being so old. Wylie


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## tinknal

Find out what state agency is in charge of asbestos and call them. In MN it is the department of health. Not sure about other states. 

The siding is generally non-friable and of little concern. As for the rest, if it is a small enough amount you can remove it yourself.

Don't panic, asbestos is everywhere, and you breath it every day.


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## Becka

I talked to an asbestos removal professional and he said all the asbestos under the house needs to go, which would cost about $2000, the furnace and all the duct work must come out and be replaced with new. (maybe another $3500)

He seemed to think the siding was ok as long is it was kept painted and undisturbed. Sounded ok, until I started thinking about the what ifs, like, what if one of the nearby trees fell on the house and "disturbed" the asbestos, or what if we wanted to re-sell the home sometime in the future? What if a storm damaged the house and "disturbed" something? Lots to consider there.


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## Kevingr

Yes, you need to be concerned about asbestos. If it's airborne, if it's not airborne it's not an issue. Is the wrapping on the furnace intact and in place? If so what's the issue? If you need to replace the furnace and ductwork then yes, you MAY have an issue, but it's not that big of a deal. It doesn't add that much to the overall cost of the entire project of replacing your entire system. 

I lived in a house with an 80 year old furnace system sealed entirely with asbestos wrap. It didn't need to be replaced but I did hire an "independent inspector" to tell me about the situation. The furnace was still working and was 80% efficient. The asbestos wrap was all intact, there were no issues. I left it as is. I would NEVER hire an asbestos removal company to give me an opionion about any of my asbestos. How do they make money?

We recently sold a house from an estate with asbestos siding and was financed with FHA money. No issues, no escrows to fix the issues, nothing. Again, if the new owner wants to cover the siding they can do so with new siding and if they don't disturb the old siding it's not an issue.


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## Becka

Yes, the wrapping is starting to fall apart and is no longer intact. The furnace does need replaced as well, so if we buy the place, we would have it all removed and new put in.


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## uncle Will in In.

Some insurance companys won't insure a house with asbestes siding.


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## Becka

Thanks for all the wisdom and advice. We've decided not to get this house. Ironically, it wasn't the asbestos that helped us make the final decision, it was the neighbor. We looked at the house one last time today and met the next door neighbor, only to find him cranky and downright rude and threatening. Not someone we'd want to live next to along with our children, much less share a driveway with.


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