Property developer asbestos, remove or encapsulate?

gemmacots

Hi, I have a cash lump sum and am in the process of looking for a property to redevelop and sell on so I can eventually make enough spare cash to help my children onto the property ladder as it’s not going to be easy for them in this day and age. I don’t have enough for all of them with the cash I have unfortunately. 

I am no novice as I have moved a few times over the years and every house has been a full refurb with most of the work completed by myself.
My question is for any savvy property developers please. I have seen a property I like which has asbestos in the ceilings. It has had an asbestos survey and recommendation is to encapsulate. 

As a property developer, Would you remove or encapsulate? I ask as there is a considerable difference in cost and just wondered what property developers do in this instance as I want to ensure it’s all above board. My initial thought is to remove and replace but not sure if this is overkill when the asbestos survey recommended to encapsulate, thanks in advance for any help and advice. 

bobster2

If you're just talking about artex ceilings - most people who move into a house with artex ceilings just paint over them and leave them alone.

No idea what developers normally do.

gemmacots

bobster2 said:

If you're just talking about artex ceilings - most people who move into a house with artex ceilings just paint over them and leave them alone.

No idea what developers normally do.

Thank you. Yea they are artex but have asbestos as they were tested by the seller. As I feel they look outdated anyway, I was planning to either encapsulate and skim over them or remove and replace but was wondering if encapsulating would be acceptable to a future buyer or would it be seen as cutting corners? even though this was the recommendation from the asbestos survey? Thank you for you response 👍

anselld

Skim.  Perfectly normal and generally safer than removal anyway.

tacpot12

How are you planning to inform the new owner that there is asbestos in the ceiling? 

bobster2

tacpot12 said:

How are you planning to inform the new owner that there is asbestos in the ceiling? 

Yes - this is an issue with skimming. If people don't know it's in there - they may just drill into it creating dust.

There are safe ways to drill into asbestos containing artex ceilings - if you know it's there.

gemmacots

tacpot12 said:

How are you planning to inform the new owner that there is asbestos in the ceiling? 

Hello, I would of course inform any buyer of the asbestos in the ceiling and the encapsulation if I decided to go down this route. Hence my question if this may put off potential buyers as opposed to fully removing the asbestos. I just wondered how property developers deal with this if doing a property up for a sale. Thanks for your response, 👍

tacpot12

gemmacots said:

tacpot12 said:

How are you planning to inform the new owner that there is asbestos in the ceiling? 

Hello, I would of course inform any buyer of the asbestos in the ceiling and the encapsulation if I decided to go down this route. Hence my question if this may put off potential buyers as opposed to fully removing the asbestos. I just wondered how property developers deal with this if doing a property up for a sale. Thanks for your response, 👍

I think that the degree to which this will put people off will depend on whether they consider themselves to be likely DIY'ers. If they do, they will probably see it as being a severe limitation, as they won't consider that they will be able to put anything up on the ceiling (it would put me off). If they don't, they will buy the property and expect to be able to handover the problem of safely attaching things to the ceiling to their tradespeople, who may or may not have been told about the asbestos by the homeowner; the new owner may or may not tell them, and may not care about the consequences.  

So you either risk exposing someone to it unwittingly, or putting off some potential buyers; either way, removal seems to be the appropriate response for a property developer. If you were the home owner, it would be more resonable for you to decide to live with the problem. As you know you will be selling the property on, I don't think you should be making such a long-term decision on behalf of the future owners and tradespeople who will work in the property. 

Bigphil1474

Personally I'd remove it. Yes, it costs more, but it's far less hassle for future owners. It's just a case of who takes that hit to get it done. Having it skimmed over is just kicking the can down the road IMO. Agree with tacpot.