Beware - Asbestos Costly in Many Ways

I recently had some clients who really loved this 1950s split level,  the former home of the town doctor in a small rural West GA city. It  needed a lot of updating but was spacious and had a great deal of charm, rumored among the locals to be the best built home in the city as the old  Doc always did everything right. During the initial showing I showed  my clients the insulated ductwork in the basement which appeared to me  to be asbestos and advised them not to disturb the pipe. They wanted to  make an offer on the home but were unsure what the costs would be to make repairs. The disclosure form stated that the roof was 5 years old  but the shingles were sagging and broken at the edges and were clearly much older. Coordinating the estimates for my clients, our roofer found  that there were actually three layers of shingles, the layers near the  eaves had been cut back hiding the extra layers. This brought the roof estimate higher to $10,000 due to the removal of the extra layers. It  could be much higher if the layers underneath were asbestos shingles  which could not be determined until the layers had been peeled back.

My clients have small children and purchasing the home with the  asbestos insulated pipe was not an option without doing something about it. I  spoke with several environmental and asbestos abatement companies (not as  easy to find as you would think) who advised that the best course  according to the EPA is to have the asbestos pipe sealed by a professional and not to disturb it. The estimates that I got to seal the one pipe  were $8,000-$10,000. If the roof shingles turned out to be asbestos they  would have to be sealed individually, each shingle and the ballpark  figure on that job was $40,000. The home was priced in the low $200s and  also hadn't been updated ever with the exception of the kitchen. My  clients quickly cooled to the idea as they wondered what else the house may  need. We had several inspectors look at it but some things like the  mysterious numerous drainage pipe cleanouts in the backyard defied  explanation. I'm certainly glad that they moved on to look at another home and made the decision not to pursue this potential money pit. The old  Doc's home was recently purchased by the daughter of a local real esate agent.

If you are looking for Douglasville Real Estate or anything in the West  GA market please contact me to assist you. I consider every aspect of  my client's new home purchases and give them the most information  possible to ensure that they will be happy about their decisions for years  to come. I strive to be the kind of Douglasville Real Estate Agent that I wish I would have had when I started out.

• Asbestos in Your Home

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