There are a lot of old abandoned homes. I would never live in a home built before 1978. Almost certainly that home is full of lead-based paint and asbestos.
You don’t have a choice in some areas, like the south SF bay (unless you are a multimillionaire). The sources of asbestos are well known and they can be removed cleanly and safely, and lead paint should have been painted over by now with more than a few coats of modern paint — which you can safely touch and lick, if you like.
You never remodel or have to repair holes in the walls of your home? In my experience, we would have lead based paint particles floating all around the house from all the projects and fixes we do.
Presumably you’d baby proof your home and would address any spots where the paint is flaking or chipping off the wall. Especially if you knew it was an older home.
Honestly unless the lead paint is the topmost layer, or they put so many coats of regular paint on that it’s falling off the wall, the actual risk of a toddler encountering and then consuming the paint chips is shockingly low.
>I would never live in a home built before 1978. Almost certainly that home is full of lead-based paint and asbestos.
We're closing in on 50 years past the 1979 lead-based paint cutoff - the vast majority of homes in my area, and I extrapolate that likely most areas, have been remediated. With asbestos - probably the worst issue in my area is that if you have asbestos shingles you want to remove they are stinking heavy and so cost a lot to dump. I live in a 1915 home that is a great example of houses in my area - has gone through multiple renovations in that time such that the guts are fundamentally new. Probably the biggest issue with these older homes is insulation, as unless you truly take them down to the studs, they are never going to be as airtight as modern homes.
There are a lot of old abandoned homes. I would never live in a home built before 1978. Almost certainly that home is full of lead-based paint and asbestos.