Termites?

[NIT2WN]

Long story dramatically shortened, we found a house we liked and we're in negotiations to buy. We agreed to a price and a closing date pending credit approval for me and a house inspection. The house was built in 2001, wood frame vinyl siding with block and mortar foundation. the inspector's report says the house has no termite shields[sheet metal pieces] installed anywhere under it. That didn't make me happy, but it also has termites in the house. The inspector believes there isn't much damage or at least not enough for repairs yet. He also said it should be inspected by a termite professional [Terminex] and see what they say. The house was supposedly treated and had a termite bond in the last month or so. My question is, at what point do we back out of the house? The seller is thinking he can get Terminex to treat it and bond it and all will be fine. I'm very leary of this and just about ready to dump it and run. I would be willing to buy it but I want a serious guarantee the house will be there in 30 years. So, sorry for the long post, but I need help and some professional guidance. Thanks for your replies and wisdom because I need all the help I can get.

 

[canibus]

the house should be fine since it's fairly new, see what terminex says and go from there. if the list is too long then you should definetly walk away.

 

[NIT2WN]

There are a list of what I would call less than $500 a piece jobs, but several of them are close to the $500. I'm willing to still buy the house if it gets a clear bill of health on the termites and the seller would fix the majority of the problems. The house has been on the market for 270 days and went from $179,900 to $155,000. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, deck, and 7.5 acres of land. It was appraised at $165k in the last month or so. We really like it other than some interior colors and considering the other few houses in the area, was a great price. We offered him the $155k and he pay all closing cost. He took the offer other than the closing day. It would be fine for just me and the wife. We had been picking colors and other crap for it while on vacation until this come up. I'm so ready to move, I've even packed up alot of stuff just in anticipation.

 

[RDJ]

If I were in you shoes I would still buy the house under the following conditions:

1. Terminx comes out and treats and gives you a long term bond.
2. the seller pays for the installation of necessary termite shields
3. Take a serious look at the list of things the inspector found. The seller pays for anything foundation, roof, or plumbing related. Minor things that can be fixed by you outside of the mentioned areas I would fix myself.
4. if the seller wants to take less for the house and you get ALL the stuff fixed and drops it enough that it will cover the costs I would still buy it.

that is a hell of a price for what you are getting.

 

[NIT2WN]

He didn't have a clue on the termites, my home inspector must be related to superman. According to the seller he had never seen anyone go through a house so well and detailed. I'm not sure how you would put the shields in. I'm guessing you would literally have to lift the whole house at every point where it supported and insert them. I betting that's costly. The termites are eating at the foundation at the front of the house, which is the hardest place to get to in the crawl space. I'm betting whoever treated it in the early years half assed it to say the least and now it has come to haunt. The house is worth the price barring the termite damage. I didn't even haggle on it. The reason he is selling is his company is going into business with another in Arizona and he needs(has) to be moved by the middle of August. I tried to look at it earlier this year and his realtor was trying to do her best not to sell it to me because we had 7 vehicles (now 6). Her words was restrictions and I needed something in the county. There was one, any structure added has to sit farther back than the house does on the lot. Seven acres should hold that many vehicles easily and you can't see a neighbor in any direction. I wasn't moving in a used car lot. We have :03 lightning, 07 mustang gt, 00 corolla, 98 extracab tocoma, 06 f250 diesel extracab 4x4, 95 camry. We sold the 90 gt mustang due to lack of driving it at all. I'm not rich by any means, all of these are paid for except the 07 mustang and the diesel. They are all nice or decent looking vehicles. We've lived in a mobile home since we've been married and are ready for our 1st and last house. I know our goals are out of whack but we been waiting to see where we work 'from now on' before we done any brick and mortar house buying. A mobile home can be moved, it just isn't pretty. Sorry for the rant, I'm just sick about this house. I'm actually a little atached to it and don't even live in it. When we looked at it and made an offer, I even offered to help him pack his moving truck. Half of his stuff was already boxed up in the garage.

 

[RDJ]

well I would wait till you get the terminix guy out to take a look and give you advice. AND I would talk to a contractor about putting the termite shields in and see what they say THEN make a decision.

Screw the car thing. YOu can put up a garage behind the house and be done with it. Take a look at any covenents before you sign on the dotted line tho.

He didn't have a clue on the termites, my home inspector must be related to superman. According to the seller he had never seen anyone go through a house so well and detailed. I'm not sure how you would put the shields in. I'm guessing you would literally have to lift the whole house at every point where it supported and insert them. I betting that's costly. The termites are eating at the foundation at the front of the house, which is the hardest place to get to in the crawl space. I'm betting whoever treated it in the early years half assed it to say the least and now it has come to haunt. The house is worth the price barring the termite damage. I didn't even haggle on it. The reason he is selling is his company is going into business with another in Arizona and he needs(has) to be moved by the middle of August. I tried to look at it earlier this year and his realtor was trying to do her best not to sell it to me because we had 7 vehicles (now 6). Her words was restrictions and I needed something in the county. There was one, any structure added has to sit farther back than the house does on the lot. Seven acres should hold that many vehicles easily and you can't see a neighbor in any direction. I wasn't moving in a used car lot. We have :03 lightning, 07 mustang gt, 00 corolla, 98 extracab tocoma, 06 f250 diesel extracab 4x4, 95 camry. We sold the 90 gt mustang due to lack of driving it at all. I'm not rich by any means, all of these are paid for except the 07 mustang and the diesel. They are all nice or decent looking vehicles. We've lived in a mobile home since we've been married and are ready for our 1st and last house. I know our goals are out of whack but we been waiting to see where we work 'from now on' before we done any brick and mortar house buying. A mobile home can be moved, it just isn't pretty. Sorry for the rant, I'm just sick about this house. I'm actually a little atached to it and don't even live in it. When we looked at it and made an offer, I even offered to help him pack his moving truck. Half of his stuff was already boxed up in the garage.

 

[NIT2WN]

We can't even find the so-called restrictions printed up anywhere. I intended to put the mustang and lightning in the garage. The diesel and tacoma under a metal car awning we already have, and just park our beater cars in front of the garage. The lot is all wooded except for the one acre or so where the house sits. I figured to clear a spot just big enough for the awning and our utility trailer up into the woods off one side of the house, so you couldn't really see it. I don't want to offend anyone, but hey if I buy I do want to use some of it. I'm not self employed or anything so I'm not going to have a 'home business'. I just want some land, house with room, and no neighbors, particularly nosy [sp] ones. I work 2 weeks days then 2 weeks nights and have some weird habits because of it. Like wanting to work on a vehicle at 4 a.m. Since I also sleep during the day, I don't want someone cutting grass at 9 a.m. I understand my schedule fits very few other people and would rather pay for land and space than cope. To be truthful that's the only reason we can afford what we do have. I absolutely despise subdivisions, fences, and thier rules. If I bought it, leave my mailbox alone. I really don't care if you have pink flamingos. If your happy, I'm fine with it. I won't say I like a pink or purple house but whatever. It belongs to the owner, not the neighborhood association.

 

[s_x_i]

Get terminex to spray the shit out of the place. I have done it with houses I've bought in the past. You shouldn't have too many problems, just be sure to check out the damaged places and make whatever repairs necessary. Keep up with regular pest control and you should be ok.

An average colony of termites will only consume around 1' of 2"x4" in a year, so if they haven't been there long you should be just fine.

 

[lowflyn]

Hehe, a thread I can give some good advice in.

I'm a manager for Terminix here in MS. Did termite damage repair for Terminix as a contractor before working for them directly so I've seen both sides.

Definitely have the house treated and put under a protection plan at the seller's cost. I'd also have a contractor/inspector come out and assess the damages already there to see first off if there are any structural issues that need immediate addressing and secondly to assess the damage that is currently there and how much an estimate on that would be.

One thing to remember about termite damage is you don't see the majority of it until you get rid of the termites. The termites you have in your area have to return to the ground to get moisture so they are constantly moving from the ground up into the house. As long as the Terminix office in your area doesn't try to do a perimeter plus treatment on the house alone you'll be fine. Make sure you insist they do a full void treatment which will involve drilling each concrete block and flooding it with the termiticide as well as doing a trench and treat treatment around the foundation walls and any piers under the house.

If there is any wood to ground contact (porches, siding, even wooden piers) I would recommend having the costs of these being removed added into the sale price of the house.

You don't necessarily have to install "termite shields" as people call them. These do nothing more than make the termites build around to get to the house. I can show you hundreds of pictures of termite tunnels running up to these shield, around them, and straight to the house. You need to make sure the foundation and house is fully treated.

Back to the damage for a minute, like I said before, you will not notice the majority of the damage until the termites are gone. It normally takes a few weeks for the termiticide to gain full control over the colony(ies) and after that point the wood will begin to dry out from where the termites were bringing the moisture into the house. You might want to find a way to work future damage(s) into the closing agreement as well. Whether you are given a simple allowance off the price or however you want to work that. Because I guarantee you if you have a contractor come in right now and repair everything he finds, you will find more damage 6-8 months from now.

As far as the protection plan goes with Terminix. Once the house has been treated by us, we will put it under a protection plan. This means that once the initial infestation is taken care of if in 10 years you see termite damage or signs of termites and we find live termites in this area we will retreat the affected areas as well as pay to have any damage caused by these termites repaired at no cost to you. No deductible, no hidden fees, nothing.

You may run into issues in the future since the house does currently have termites. There will be a detailed graph drawn of the house showing where the termites are currently found as well as where damage and possible damage is in the house. If there is a claim at some point in the future in these areas and live termites are not found it's going to come down to how well your local manager likes you...

I won't get anymore detailed on here concerning the subject unless you'd like me to. If you have anymore questions on any of these feel free to post it up or just shoot me a pm. I can even call the local office over there and let them know what's going on.