Asbestos Abatement Surprise

[Kyle Varner]

I am completing work on a rehab project right now for a house with burn damage.  I got a very nasty surprise when in order to get a demolition permit from the city I had to get asbestos testing.  This led to the discovery of asbestos materials in the ceiling, and thus, I had to hire an asbestos abatement contractor.  These people charge stupid amounts of money.  Luckily, in this instance, it doesn't kill the deal--but it had the potential to do so, and it took me by surprise.  I don't like bad surprises like this.

So, now I need to know how to assess and mitigate my risk of hazardous materials on a property.  Asbestos in one form or another is likely to be present in just about any structure I purchase in my market, given the ages of the houses.  But, I am unsure of how to determine if I'm going to need to perform an asbestos abatement in a given property.  I think it is related to whether I am performing some kind of demolition.  On my current property, the entire top floor had to be removed because it was burned to a crisp.  On a more standard rehab, where I am replacing drywall, floors, and doing light interior remodeling, this will likely not be the case, right?  

Basically, I'd like to know what lessons I should learn from this surprise, so that I do not get stuck with such surprises in the future, and if I do, I have planned accordingly for them.