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You make an offer on the house and add a contingency that you approve a house inspection, along with lawyer review and you get financing, termite inspection. The seller will want (or should want) a time limit, like 10-15 days they expire.
Absolutely get a house inspection, be there when that is done, ask questions of him
Even a new house, should have a buyer house inspection.
Age has nothing to do with it, it's all in the condition, a well maintaned 50 year old house is much better than a poorly built/maintaned 5 year old house.
check roof
furnace
foundation
leaky windows
any improvements have had closed/inspected permits
wiring,
In any case I believe ( correct me if wrong) the owner would be responsible to get it out of the ground and remediate before selling
its not mandatory for the seller to remove it before selling. My friend bought a house with underground oil tank 2 months back. He tested it and make sure there is no leak.
I am in process of buying a house and that house has an underground oil tank and I ask the seller to remove the oil tank and he is going to do it. i believe that is a best way to handle underground oil tank.
so its all dependent on how you are ask the seller.
Asbestos was banned from most housing materials around 1980 (or a little earlier) so really any house built before then you better expect at least some could be present. If it is not friable (crumbling) then you're probably okay and it is best for it to remain in place and not be disturbed---such as old floor tile---often it will be sealed/overlaid with new instead of total removal and as long as it remains contained it is really should not a concern.
But it needs to be kept encapsulated if removal is not feasible, which will be costly. But getting an inspector familiar/qualified is a must.
The stuff was used in a huge array of construction products before the 1980s, though some certainly are more likely to cause problems than others: I'd be suspicious of textured ceilings and walls in houses built before 1981 as the texturing material usually contained a good deal of asbestos before then; also joint compound and drywall used to contain it before the 1980s (I think actually it was banned from those in 1978, not sure). So that must be kept in mind if you plan to remove it or disturb it in some way. Those ugly popcorn ceilings used to contain tons of it and that can make removal of the old texture problematic if you wish to remodel.
Asbestos was also commonly used in acoustic ceiling and wall tiles.
Old linoleum and vinyl tiles before the 80s tended to contain it--as did the adhesives. Old electrical panels can contain asbestos card as a fire retardant and older heating units, pipes, ducts and such also usually contain asbestos for insulation. The list goes on and it is best to consult with an inspector as each house will be different.
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