Asbestos Siding Concerns

[Ryan Alexander]

I found a triplex in a college town that will cash flow great. Viewed the property yesterday and it has a mixture of aluminum and asbestos siding. No idea the age of it. I’ve never dealt with asbestos siding before and wanted to reach out to learn more.

Would you or have you bought a property with asbestos siding? Is it something where if it’s damaged, it’s ok to keep as is? What are the typical costs of removing it?

Any help/advice is appreciated!

[Jeff Copeland]

It's very common here in Florida. It's cost prohibitive to remove in most cases, but exterior siding is arguably one use where asbestos sort of made sense: Noting eats it, it doesn't rot, and it's non-friable. 

It's generally best to avoid disturbing it, and you certainly don't want to drill into it or cut it if you can help it. Bot otherwise, it's generally not harmful unless disturbed.

They also make concrete replacement tiles (widely available at Home Depot) that enable you to replace individual tiles that break.