How necessary is it to inspect for lead and asbestos?

Question

I have three more days of due diligence on my first investment property which I am planning to either flip or fix up a bit and rent out.  I have been warned recently by a more experienced investor that it is critical to inspect for lead and asbestos during due diligence as there could be serious health, legal, and financial risks to not doing so?

That said, my current realtor and my last have both been surprised by me proposing such inspections saying that nobody has these inspections done on these old properties (1952) that I'm looking at.  They either assume there is lead and asbestos and that provide some kind of disclosure when selling.  The concerns introduced to me yesterday were that city inspectors could fine very severely for improperly dealing with such hazards and that abatement and other procedures can make a deal in my price range unprofitable.  This is all in addition to the health issues when doing the work.

I'd really like to hear what others here advice.  I don't want to be taking health and legal chances, but I am also trying to avoid numerous payouts before committing to purchasing the property.

Chris Christianson · Answer

That would be my recommendation, yes.  Find an EPA Lead Certified contractor and go for it.

Chris Christianson · Answer

I do these things ever day @Nick Brubaker.  I'm lead certified and do the processes in a safe way.  It doesn't cost me much if any more, just some plastic, masks and paperwork.  As for the asbestos, a 50's build home will probably have some in floor tiles.  I bust them up all the time as well I just take it slow and try to remove them intact.  Never heard of anyone hiring out an abatement outfit for that.  Furnaces, sure but that's about it.  You probably have forced air HVAC so there shouldn't be any there. If you're removing a chimney you could encounter asbestos transit pipes, take them out in full chunks and you're off to the races.

People make this stuff out to be much bigger than it is.  If you hire a contractor that's worth there salt, they'll take care of it all legally, safely and for very minimal added cost.

Nick Brubaker · Answer

Thank you Tracy D..  Chis, that add is both hilarious and unnerving.

Yeah, I realize there is much less concern as long as materials are not being disturbed, but we would be doing renovations (see below).  Which if any of the tasks below might involve significant health/legal/financial repercussions due to lead or asbestos in the materials:

Sanding down the wood floors

Demoing the bathroom

Demoing the kitchen

Replacing paneled walls with sheetrock

Replacing the flooring in the kitchen

Opening up two passageways

Soffit repair

Derreck Wells · Answer

Hi Nick.

Lead laws differ from state to state. Please look yours up. There is a difference in being a RRP (Renovate, Repair, & Painting) certified contractor and being a a licensed deleader. Every contractor is supposed to be RRP certified by taking an EPA class. That's a Fed law. How individual states handle that is different, some don't care so much and other love to write contractors fines.

Getting a lead abatement license is a compeletely different thing. Some states require it, some don't. Some states require a hoeowner take a class before doing the work themselves and some don't.

Every state is different, look up the laws in yours. Unless Chris is offering to pay any fines you getby doing it his way, then just go in blind! ;) I'd be sure to get his offer in writing if I were you.

Good luck!

Nick Brubaker · Answer

Thank you @Chris Christianson  So you're saying there is no point having the inspections done, just try to find a GC who is experienced working on old homes?

Chris Christianson · Answer

If it was built in 1952 then there IS lead and asbestos in it.  Inspections are great if you have money to waste and want to make the seller cover unnecessary costs of abatement, which they won't.  You'll lose the deal.

The deal is, a couple coats of new paint over lead based paint is how you fix it.  The only exception to that rule is double hung windows.  They're supposed to be replaced if there proves to be an issue.  As for asbestos, if it isn't disturbed, as in busted into pieces and going airborne, it's not considered a problem, nor is it a problem.  Nothing needs to be done.

My house has asbestos wrapped pipes all over the basement and has since 1920.  I do plan to remove them this summer but it's not due to asbestos, it's due to moving the pipes so I can finish the basement.

I'm going to scan a great advertisement I purchased off ebay a year ago to show you what all we put lead into.  If you're flipping the property, make sure you contractor is lead certified and don't worry about it.

How necessary is it to inspect for lead and asbestos?

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