Asbestos in an investment?

[Arni]

Morning! Looking at getting our first investment property in auckland. It would be a long term investment. Good price, in Avondale so good location for capital gain (err, well, IMO). Reasonable section, 1960s bungalow, already tenanted which is a bonus. Just had building report done and the outside cladding (done over weather boards) is possibly an asbestos-based fibrolite. May not be, but done 1981 and looks it. Thinking about getting a test done, but...how could asbestos cladding affect my resale value? We'd look to remove it and go back to weatherboard anyways but if we don't have a spare 50k around I'm wondering if this could seriously impact out capital gain (say within 10-20 years). Any thoughts/opinions? Anyone else dealt with asbestos cladding? Thanks heaps

[Maccachic]

Get it tested by Dowdell and Associates its $76 +GST

[Arni]

Get it tested by Dowdell and Associates its $76 +GST

heya maccachic, yeah we're planning to...just wondering if it comes back with a YES...whether we should proceed or not.

[harmonist]

My ex bought a 1940s asbestos fibrolite house a few months ago, the interior has been remodelled but the builders said if the house is water tight then there's no point recladding, can't help you on the re-sale part sorry but I wouldn't think you'd get your money back if you recladded, maybe not short term anyway. The only issue is if the cladding gets broken somehow then it needs to be handled appropriately because of the asbestos. Good luck

[flyernzl]

The danger from asbestos products is the dust.

So you need to be careful if its sawn or sanded.

If its just there in sheet form, you could happily picnic off it with no ill effects.

[Orkibi]

i had asbestos roof and the buyers did try to play on it with the rice, pain in the backside.
also any fix up or damages you need to get experts to deal with it.

unless you get the property for a good price which would include replacing the cladding i wouldn't touch it.
this is MHO.

GET IT TESTED AND MAKE THE CALL.

[RHarris]

Agree with flyernzl, undisturbed its fine.

[sidinz]

I had heard that the best way to deal with intact asbestos is to seal it (i.e. paint) and leave it the hell alone. Where you hear the horror stories is where someone has started demolishing something, causing dust and particles to start flying. Once this happens, you need to call in the expensive expert removalists.

[Orkibi]

if your tenant bump his car or anything chip the cladding you will have to get experts in to fix it.

there are so many properties out there i would recommend you buy something better.
UNLESS (AS MENTIONED ABOVE) you are getting it for great price...

Tel us about the property, what makes it so attractive as an investment?
tel us about the numbers?

[Stickman]

I am invested in a few businesses and one is an asbestos consultancy, management and removal firm. Be aware folks, there are some changes afoot that will make any work with Asbestos a lot more expensive than it already is. The changes being driven by WorkSafe NZ around compliance, administration and documentation are pretty heavy (but largely necessary - too many unsafe cowboys around still). Be sure that you know the costs associated with any asbestos products on a building before looking to acquire one for development or as a rental. Not just to remove and replace the product during a reno or such, but in terms of general day-to-day maintenance etc.

There are only a select few firms in NZ that do the work safely and properly, following the NZ Guidelines. Dowdell & Associates (as mentioned earlier in the thread) as a surveying, testing and certification laboratory are absolutely brilliant and they are 100% independent. They can make good recommendations on asbestos management, can provide certainty on samples and can be relied on to make good recommendations for contractors in your area. * I have no interest in Dowdell's - I just am and continue to be very impressed by their services.

[speights boy]

The changes being driven by WorkSafe NZ around compliance, administration and documentation are pretty heavy

There appears to be a concern down in ChCh.

Retrospective asbestos checks urged - national | Stuff.co.nz

He was concerned that testing of homes built between 1940 and 1990, in which asbestos could be present in lathe and plaster, flooring, soffits, roofing and exterior cladding, did not become mandatory until June 2012.

His fear was "thousands" of repairs had been completed without testing, "with around 12,000 workers, together with occupants of repaired homes potentially exposed to unidentified or uncontained asbestos hazards in those properties".

West's suspicions were further aroused when a Fletcher EQR memo announcing the mandatory testing, sent to contractors on June 25, 2012, was dated January 15, 2011.

He wanted all homes meeting the risk criteria to be "urgently" tested for asbestos by an independent authority, and for Fletcher EQR to be immediately suspended until its methods were "comprehensively audited".

[donna]

We've got a rental that is half cladded in fibrolite - we just keep it well sealed (painted regularly).

cheers,

Donna

[speights boy]

^ Do your tenants know ?
Do they know what to do / not to do if it is damaged ?

[Stickman]

^ Do your tenants know ?
Do they know what to do / not to do if it is damaged ?

There is no urgently pressing reason to remove fibrolite cladding that is well maintained and in good order. However SB's post above is pretty relevant. Say a kid whacks a cricket ball into the side of the house - the tenants would need to know either a) how to properly and safely clean up and then who to call to make the repairs or b) just leave it well alone and call an asbestos professional to carry out the tidy up. The issue comes when people don't do the job properly, WorkSafe become involved and suddenly common sense in any form will get removed out of the situation. I know a building site where a shed with fibrolite was badly demolished leaving bits of Fibrolite around the site. The remediation involved not just picking up all of the Fibrolite, but a full scrape of the entire site. It gets expensive then it goes pear shaped.

[donna]

Yes agreed as you say it's not uncommon. All interested parties are aware and it's regularly maintained. Also it's on the side of the house that is raised so it's not at ground level.

cheers,

Donna