Victorian Cottage - Asbestos problem?

Continental

My daughter has excitedly phoned me to say that a cottage she really liked but was sold (subject to contract) has unexpectedly just come back on the market. She’s been looking for ages and there is very little on the market except for properties in probate or much higher price points than she can afford.

The estate agent says that the previous potential purchasers have withdrawn because their survey reported that there is asbestos (daughter says behind some tiles and in the roof space). Apparently their mortgage application was denied because of this.

My daughter is a cash buyer….but her maximum is 300k. The asking price has been reduced to 320k but the listing doesn’t state anything about asbestos and doesn’t state the original asking price. I have a feeling my daughter (who is desperate to get out of her rented house and is a first time buyer) is going to be leaning on the ‘bank of mum and dad’.

Would it be totally out of order to see if the estate agent could ask the people who’ve withdrawn if they would be willing to sell the property report to my daughter? (I have no idea if it was a full structural survey or a general home buyer’s report).

Does anyone know how costly it would be to actually have the asbestos removed (or if it is indeed strictly necessary?). The cottage is rural and it may be difficult to find a specialist to deal with the asbestos. 

If my daughter is still keen to go ahead (she sounds extremely keen) could anyone suggest what she should do about making an agreeable, non-insulting offer?

Thank you.

youth_leader

As the couple withdrew, I'd assume it was the 'bad' type.  They might be happy to sell their survey to her, worth an ask.

I've read on here that most older houses do have asbestos, and if left undisturbed, it isn't a problem.  Is the cottage listed?

 Unfortunately for the young couple who bought the house across the road from me it is a problem,  as they want to reconfigure.  They did have a L3 survey, but the surveyor missed that the extension and garage roof have the 'bad' asbestos type, they have had eye watering quotes for removal.    

macman

There is no obligation for the vendor to declare the presence of asbestos, even assuming they are aware of it themselves. It's up to the buyer to find it. iI it's behind tiles then I fail to see how a survey could have confirmed it was present, as surveyors don't pull tiles off the walls. There must be millions of houses with this kind of asbestos behind tiling, used for heatproofing presumably. Perfectly safe while it remains tiled over.

Section62

Continental said:

The estate agent says that the previous potential purchasers have withdrawn because their survey reported that there is asbestos (daughter says behind some tiles and in the roof space). Apparently their mortgage application was denied because of this.

If they couldn't get a mortgage because of the asbestos that would imply it isn't run of the mill artex/ACB/AIB.

"In the roof space" would have me on alert for loose-fill asbestos fibre... possibly the worst kind of asbetos product to get rid of in the domestic context.

At minimum she would need to consider a full asbestos survey before committing.

fackers_2

I was almost willing to accept a property 5 years ago until I found out about small amount of asbestos in the roof. Because of that, I got an asbestos survey, well, multiple quotes came back ranging between £8-£15k to remove. Hard to explain to the seller however they understood! Didn’t drop the price enough so we walked sadly. 

It’s a very expensive job. 

Continental

Thank you for your comments. 

My daughter has now sent me a WhatsApp message which says “It has asbestos roof tiles in the survey (not her survey) but structurally intact but the lender rejected the application”.

I guess she mis-spoke or I mis-heard when she said roof space. Does anyone know the likely lifespan of an asbestos roof? It’s possible that it could remain ad is for many years until she could afford to eventually replace it? She’s hoping to buy a place where she can live for very many years (currently is 40). 

I don’t know how to advise her tbh. 

youth_leader

If it was my daughter, I'd recommend that she ask the EA to ask their previous clients if they would sell their survey. The survey should highlight what action should be taken. 

If the previous buyer won't sell it to her your daughter, and she is very keen, she could submit an offer, subject to her own specialist survey.

My worry would be that the roof is original, and the survey has identified it has reached the end of its life, with a recommendation for  a complete renewal.  

youth_leader

Just had a google, this article is interesting.  Good luck to your daughter in whatever she decides.

Asbestos Roof Tiles Guide | Homebuilding

Section62

Continental said:

I guess she mis-spoke or I mis-heard when she said roof space. Does anyone know the likely lifespan of an asbestos roof? It’s possible that it could remain ad is for many years until she could afford to eventually replace it? She’s hoping to buy a place where she can live for very many years (currently is 40).

It varies according to the type of tile/slate and how exposed they are to the weather.

But if you don't know when the roof was last replaced then the lifespan is probably a moot point.  She needs to know the current condition, and what kind of asbestos  they contain.  If you can budget to replace the roof with modern equivalents (and she could be a cash buyer) then it wouldn't necessarily be a big issue.

What might be a problem is if the roof structure is weak and replacement tiles (of any type) would be too heavy - then it would be a case of carrying out structural work to improve the load bearing capacity sufficiently to take replacement tiling.

Weathergirl_76

Hi. I sold my property around 18 months ago. My detached garage had an asbestos roof. I also had an asbestos water tank in the loft. The property was surveyed and the surveyor mentioned them to me, he asked me if there was any other asbestos and I told him not to my knowledge. The buyers still bought the property and all the research I did indicated if it is left alone and not broken it’s not an issue. 

I made some enquiries at the time to find out how much to get it removed from a specialist company, and I recall the tank in the loft being quoted at around £350. The buyers didn’t specify any of it to be removed and we went on to exchange. I don’t know if there’s different types but this was a pale grey cement colour. The garage roof was the undulated type. I hope this helps. 

youth_leader

Your post has reminded me of my 1999 experience with a boiler engineer, he came highly recommended.  When he took the old one out he said it was asbestos, he obviously enjoyed scaring me at how 'dangerous' it was, for £50 he'd dispose of it.  Six months later I saw it in the field behind my house -  he'd fly tipped it . I'm a lot older and wiser now.