Nora --

Don't sweat the asbestos on the exterior of the house. Our home has the same asbestos shingle exterior that the American Univ. house does. Not a big deal as long as the shingles are painted, which of course that house probably has been several time over. Unless you are planning on scraping the paint off and breathing the inhaling the dust, I think you'll be fine.

Nothing gives me more joy than laughing at what y'all pay to live in DC. My 4 bdr 2.5 bath house in Catonsville (or many like it) could be yours for about half of your house budget, and we can walk to some stores, a nice wooded trail, and a couple local eateries. Let go of DC and come be free and not house poor in the Bawlmer suburbs.

asbestos siding is the best stuff in the world. really. holds paint well, lasts forever, looks good. i wish they still made it.

almost any home built in the 30's had it and it still looks good.

irvingchang -- a question --

Our asbestos shingles need to be repainted quite badly (bought the house in August 2007, it's 30 years old, probably not ever painted - yikes) It is my suspicion that if we were to power wash the house, some shingles would crack or break. If that's a bad idea, should we just paint over the dirtiness? Any thoughts or experience in that area?

DC is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country... it's really absurd... When I left, my fiancee and I were paying $2,700 for a 2bed/2bath apartment that was "walking" distance from the metro [it was at the bottom of a huge hill]... I moved to Louisville, where I pay 1/3rd as much for a bigger apartment.

Some people just prefer "big city" living (or it's the place they are employed)...

I have asbestos siding too--my house was built in 1942--and I really like it. You're not supposed to drill into it, and the home inspector told me that if I ever wanted to change the outside of the house, we should just wrap around and put the new siding over it.