Looking at a property with asbestos

[James Folsom]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to make my first purchase soon, and have a showing lined-up on Thursday for a 4-unit building locally in Cincinnati.  Numbers look really good.

One of the pictures of the basement shows (likely) asbestos duct wrapping on all of the HVAC ducts.

The property is listed as SOLD AS IS.  Assuming that there are no other major issues with the house, I am thinking about what my options may be for the asbestos.  This is obviously before I have even seen the house, much less placed an offer and ordered an inspection.  But thinking ahead to how I might deal with this:

1. If the asbestos is in good condition, leaving it the way it is.  My only concern is that if it starts to become friable one day and I am unaware, could my tenants hold me liable for any health concerns?

2. Even though the house is sold as is, negotiate the price knowing that I will have to take care of the asbestos after purchasing.

If option number 2 is where I land, getting a full abatement/removal would be $$ thousands.  I know that you can wrap asbestos ducts.  Even with that, having a professional abatement company do that is still not cheap (I had a few small spots less than 3" each wrapped in my current house and it was $450, and this property's entire duct system contains asbestos).  Would it be sufficient to just get modern duct wrap insulation (I think it looks like foil) and wrap that over the asbestos myself?  

Looking for more experienced opinions on this. 

Thanks!