Rental Property Investor · Ames, IA · Member since 2014 · 37 posts · 20 votes
Hi BP!
Currently my wife and I considering selling my personal residence to use the equity to continue to pursue our real estate goals. When we first moved in and were renovating, we tested the popcorn ceiling for asbestos before scraping them. We found them to have asbestos, so we just painted over them to save us the hassle/$ of remediation. Now that we're considering selling, I'm not sure how buyers will react to seeing that there's asbestos (since I now have to check "yes" in the sellers disclosure; almost wish we didn't test for it! haha).
Have any of you dealt with selling a house with asbestos? How much will this affect a buyer's perception of a property? After doing research I'm no longer scared of it, as long as it's sealed, but I'm wondering how many people would pass on a house b/c of asbestos.
I never sold a house with asbestos but the last deal I funded had asbestos. Here are the particulars. Owners needed to fix the asbestos or take a cash offer. Bank would not offer a loan to a buyer because the house is considered uninhabitable due to the asbestos. We negotiated 60k off list price. Original list price 910k. Our purchase price 850k all cash 10 day close.
For popcorn ceiling my thought would be it will be an issue. There is high visibility on things like asbestos now. If it was floor tile I would think not so much but the for ceiling maybe a bigger issue because it can get airborne. Do comparable properties have this issue in your area. What does it cost to remediate and maybe you want to build in a credit for removal? or remove now?
Thanks for the replies! As far as comparables in the area having asbestos, I'm not sure. After researching and talking with the company that tested my ceiling, the majority of popcorn ceilings before the 70's have asbestos in them. They're fine as long as they aren't disturbed, and they can be "sealed" with paint.
I haven't gotten a quote on my particular home, but from asking around it seems like it will be 5K+. I do have the option as a homeowner to remove it myself, which may be the best option in terms of $. Although I would want to be completely moved out before doing that.