Homebuyers survey report says possible asbestos - should I renegotiate price?

teneighty

millymilly wrote: »

Report says "vermiculite has been laid on top of the ceilings. This may contain asbestos fibres. Due to the possible asbestos content, the surfaces should not be disturbed without prior advice from an appropriately experienced or qualified person.'

OK now it makes sense. You will have to get the vermiculite insulation tested as it could be very serious and if you are planning any work such as rewiring it will almost certainly be disturbed and could be very expensive to remove.

westernpromise

millymilly wrote: »

I should add that comparable properties, usually with slightly smaller bedrooms but much better decor, are all priced at around £700k at the moment - I have been looking and viewing for the past 6months or so, so I think this is reasonably priced given its condition and location.

If that's so then be happy. In paying £65k less than what you figure it's worth in sorted condition, you're actually saving £68k including stamp duty, which can be your budget for renovations.

I would split stuff into necessary versus urgent and do the latter first. You can live with someone's gloss painted anaglypta but you probably can't live with their manky kitchen and bathroom, so do those first. Undisturbed asbestos would for me be a later job.

Niv

Vermiculite is sometimes mined in areas close to asbestos mines which is why there is a caveat on vermiculite products. Asbestos is unlikely to have been purposely added to the insulation as vermiculite was used as an alternative to asbestos and as such if it did contain asbestos it would be very low quantities as it would simply be contamination. During my years as an asbestos surveyor and analyst I never found vermiculite insulation to contain asbestos (that is not to say it does not exist, it is spoken of, I just have never found it) and therefore I would not be terribly concerned about it, I would treat it like I would any other very low risk asbestos product just in case (or get a sample taken on the off chance).

Sandgrownun

Our 1950s house was flagged up as having asbestos, surveyor thought it might be in the artex. We had spotted what we thought was an asbestos garage roof. We got a full survey done which here (the north) cost I think about £180. Turned out there was asbestos floor tiles and also near the boiler but that was all pretty standard and now we know we will deal with it as needed when we come to sort that bit of the house. I think you should have the asbestos survey and then possibly renegotiate when you know more. FWIW your house sounds like exactly the sort of house I would go for, untouched for years and then it can all be ripped out and done new. If you are doing full rewiring/windows/plastering etc it doesn't really matter how old the stuff was previously. I would rather that than buy a house that's over priced but has bathroom kitchen etc that is slightly dated and or not to my taste.

Sandgrownun

Ps garage wasn't even asbestos so I'm extra glad we had it done as now we can smash it up without worrying!!

millymilly

Thank you all for your replies, I thought I would post again and let you know what happened. I decided to order an asbestos survey in the end - this cost me £180 incl VAT, and they tested 5 areas for me. I got the results back on the same day - all of the sites (including the ceiling insulation) came back negative, so I am very happy! Thank you all for your input.

Shorif908

I am currently going through a similar dilema.

Can you please kindly share the surveyoryou used also a year down the line.

Hiw are things going?

UltraRevenge

Anyone know of any reputable surveyor's? Cant trust Google. Appreciate if someone can help.