Mixed Opinions on Asbestos.. What is yours?

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Hello all!

I purchased my first flip house on Monday and as a new real estate investor, I would like to get some experienced rehabber's opinions on the threat of asbestos. I searched BP for asbestos-related forums but I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for..

The house I purchased was built in 1963 so obviously the threat of asbestos is present. The main place of concern for me is the POPCORN CEILING in the living room/kitchen area. I want to scrape it off. All other ceilings throughout the house have been scraped of the popcorn and been re-texturized. I have read so many different articles all over the internet (even from the EPA's website) and still am not any clearer on what I should do about it...

I called 3 asbestos abatement places in Houston this morning. Not only did they all recommend to have some samples taken off the ceiling but they insisted asbestos was nothing to take lightly. I thought samples might be a good starting point so I scheduled to have someone come out and take some samples.

The man who showed up, let's call him John, took 3 samples and charged $300. While he was taking the samples, John decides to ask me how I got into flipping houses and asks me if I watch too much TV (joke, obviously, but still.) I replied politely by saying "No, actually, most of the TV shows you see about flipping houses are fake and don't portray remotely what an investor actually incurs." Even though I'm a beginner in this business, I've studied enough to see that the TV shows are definitely fake. Okay just thought I'd share that but I'm way off subject-

So after that discussion, I asked for his personal opinion on asbestos and how he feels about the dangers of removing it. He said worst case scenario your ceiling samples will come back at the highest possible rate of 5-6% and even at that rate, you don't need the professionals to remove this stuff- You can do it yourself with the appropriate masks and equipment.. So I'm basically taken aback b/c from what I've read on the internet and talking with some specialists, they say do not remove it yourself at any costs if there is even 1% of asbestos.

So then I get to thinking, if what John said is true, why am I even paying to have it sampled?

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Has anyone dealt with popcorn ceilings before that could've or did contain asbestos? If so, did you bite the bullet and pay the professionals or do it yourself?

All other suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated! I thank you in advance for your replies.