Asbestos walls vs non asbestos

Hi all,

I would really appreciate your comments and knowledge on asbestos walls in a house vs non-asbestos.

From my understanding (reading on pc), most houses built before the 80's have some asbestos somewhere: bathroom, shower, roof, walls etc.

So I was thinking how much would asbestos reduce the value of a property?
Say there are 2 identical properties built 1980, but one has asbestos in the walls and the other does not. Would this asbestos compromise the value in the banks eyes at all?

I really appreciate all your comments

Cheers!

 

Its unlikely that internal asbestos walls will lower house value much if at all, you would obviously prefer no asbestos but it comes with the territory when buying pre 1980 homes. External walls will most likely have some bearing on valuation as opposed to weather board and I know from personal experience that an asbestos roof WILL lower property value. I actually just spent $13500 replacing an asbestos roof.

 

No difference generally.

 

Great thanks for the feedback So with valuation point of view, it isn't super important to get it removed.

 

Not really, but that would depend on the type and condition of the asbestos. Check that the asbestos isn't cracked or crumbling during your inspection, as mentioned above roofing (and also Super 6 fences) can be expensive to remove, but in general if the asbestos is in good condition and you don't want to remove it, then it is of no concern. If you want to do renovations though, you will need to consider the additional costs of removing the asbestos (licensed asbestos removalists, additional equipment if you want to do it yourself, and waste disposal fees).

If you want to learn a bit more about how to identify and manage asbestos around your home, check out Asbestos Awareness | Don't Play Renovation Roulette

 

I am surprised that people think that it doesn't make much of a difference.
Houses that are made of fibro in Brisbane go for significantly less. People stay away from them.
Now that could be because they don't look as nice not just because they are dangerous (potentially) and more expensive to demolish. Similarly places with asbestos walls inside that have those half round joins all over the walls due to asbestos sheets not being able to be as long and wide) are not considered as nice and are often not as quick to move as plasterboard or vjs.
I have seen this in example after example so I would suggest that asbestos walls do not assist with selling a property and are a value detractant.
It's probably a combination of both aesthetics and perceived danger/hassle.

 

I think they mean, like in the bathroom, or eaves etc

But even if it is a fibro house, they are still ok, they will be cheaper, but so is hardiplank etc.

Timber QLDers will have asbestos somewhere too, pretty hard to avoid really.

Plenty of places up in Bris still with asbestos in the roofing sheets. That would be the main concern, but it is only really a $$$ thing.

 

Some food for further thought, or confusion....

Dozens of Australian building sites contaminated with asbestos

 

In terms of on-selling, I would say yes it would.. In terms of an equity release, for valuation I can speak from experience that it makes no difference compared to other properties in the area.

 

I'm very surprised about that given the additional challenges selling and the discount that is applied.

 

Pretty much any house pre- 1980 will have asbestos, so if you are comparing two weatherboard homes, same size, same style, same dimensions would internal asbestos walls matter a heck of a lot? One has asbestos internal walls, the other doesnt but has asbestos in the bathroom walls (almost a certainty) and in the eaves. There isnt going to be much of a difference in price, like I said the less asbestos the better but valuation isnt going to be affected unless its the roof or external walls potentially. You won't get any less or more rent. It won't actually bother anyone unless someone disturbs it.

 

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

I will also have to read up on it. Our BA wasn't fazed by it in the walls, but was more concerned with it in the roof. We didn't get much of an explanation though..

I was thinking about this. However our strategy is B&H, so hopefully no demolishing. As long as it isn't disturbed during tenants time living there and if they don't mind, it sounds like, it just makes the house cheaper. From the comments, not significantly cheaper..it's hard to put a $ figure I suppose.

Thanks for the comments!