Posted on: 09th Jul, 2010 03:06 am
My husband and I are very interested in viewing a home that claims to have asbestos present. We have not yet ascertained from the realtor the extent or nature of the asbestos, but I am assuming it is probably tiling. The house is very inexpensive as a result and leaves us ample room to pay for the asbestos removal.
My question is: even though we are pre-approved for homes in this price range, will the bank have any problems approving a loan for a home containing asbestos? Do I ask them in advance of getting an approval letter for this particular home, or do I just allow the underwriter to uncover this?
Also, the home is run on propane - will this be a factor the bank will use in choosing to approve a loan?
We are currently using McCue Mortgage.
Thanks so much for your help.
My question is: even though we are pre-approved for homes in this price range, will the bank have any problems approving a loan for a home containing asbestos? Do I ask them in advance of getting an approval letter for this particular home, or do I just allow the underwriter to uncover this?
Also, the home is run on propane - will this be a factor the bank will use in choosing to approve a loan?
We are currently using McCue Mortgage.
Thanks so much for your help.
A home using propane as it's source of power is usually considered "off the grid" and most lenders will not lend on them. Further if the home is claimed to have asbestos and it is information that one could find out, the appraiser will likely notate this and it will need to be fixed prior to closing. You can take your chances and try to buy it, but you may find out after spending money on a home inspection, appraisal and other items that the lender won't lend on it and then you would be out those costs without a lender to fund your loan. It is always in your best interest to disclose potential problems with the home upfront to your lender in order to avoid getting yourself into that situation.
I should have elaborated - the propane is for the hot water and maybe cooking, I'm not sure; however, the house has electricity. Will the propane still present a problem as far as obtaining a loan in this scenario?
I haven't run into an issue with a home using propane as the heat source for hot water, in all my years I can only distinctly remember one home (in far, far Northern California) that had propane as the hot water heater and at that time it wasn't an issue. It was also when credit was extremely loose and lenders may have tightened up guidelines on that since then. I'd recommend you bring it up to the lender, anything 'unique' about a home should definitely be brought to the attention of the lender as soon as possible so you'll know if there is a problem with financing. Some will say just go for it and if it becomes an issue along the way deal with it then, I guess it depends on your level of risk tolerance, but for me I like to go forward knowing all variables.