How do you manage the threat of asbestos in a house hack?

[Daniel Hughes]

The title really says it all. I'm looking at small multifamily properties in the Oklahoma City market (mainly duplexes) and I've noticed that most of the properties I'm seeing are old (built prior to 1980). I've read that these old properties have a high risk for containing asbestos. I don't want to move into a house hack property that has asbestos and I definitely don't want to rent out a unit that has asbestos to a tenant. It's just not worth the risk of cancer.

So my question is how do you identify whether a property has asbestos? And when do you look for it? Any and all advice is appreciated. This has been a major sticking point and obstacle for me as I don't want to overlook something so dangerous and risk being exposed to (or exposing others to) asbestos. Thank you.

[Ben Sears]

To answer your questions very broadly, identifying asbestos is probably best left to a good home inspector or specialty contractor with a background in asbestos abatement. Asbestos in residential homes is commonly found in floor tiles (the vinyl looking ones), siding, pipe insulation, and possibly blown in attic insulation. It should be noted that you should first identify if asbestos is present and then determine is "friability". Friable asbestos means that it is easily crumbled and can become aerosolized. Asbestos becomes dangerous when it crumbles to dust and is inhaled. Non-friable asbestos is not easily removed or crumbled. In many instances, non-friable asbestos doesn't pose a hazard to you or your tenants. There are tons of buildings that still have asbestos in place. 

Now the bad/expensive part comes into play when you have to perform abatement. This would happen when asbestos become friable or you need to remove it during remodel work. This can cost some big money depending on the amount of material and scope of work. It's a heavily regulated and licensed field and you'll pay the contractor well. Additionally, you would want to check about any type of disclosure to your tenants during the application process. Your realtor should be able to point you in the right direction on this. 

Bottom line is that asbestos wouldn't be a deal killer for me, but I would definitely do my due diligence and factor abatement into my offer price.