Should we buy a house with termite damage on the roof and garage?
Author: admin | Category: Staging a HouseWe are at the final stage of buyoing the house we really loved. However during termite inspection, the inspector found termite damage on the roof and the garage. We are wondering if it’s worth persueing the house if the seller agrees to fix it. Also how sever the damage can be if the termites are found on the roof.
I wouldn’t buy it. The seller will probably try to get the cheapest job done. He was already too cheap to have a termite bond.
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Don’t forget this. They ate their way to the roof. That is the only way they could have gotten there.
With the real estate market the way it is there is absolutely no reason to take a chance on buying a problem house no matter how much you love it.
You know rule one when buying a house is walk away if everything isn’t the way you want it. Never fall in love with a house, it’s like grocery shopping when you are starving only way more expensive!
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14 Responses to “Should we buy a house with termite damage on the roof and garage?”
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June 15th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
No.
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June 15th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
If the seller agrees to fix it, than yeah definitely buy it. Even if the buyer doesn’t agree to fix it, you can have him/her charge you less. After that you have to think about if it is going to be worth it to persue the house; depending on the amount it will cost to replace the roof and garage.
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June 15th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Zach is correct. Depends on how much you love the house and how far you are willing to go.
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June 15th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
find out how much damage and how much it will cost to fix, then decide. the termite inspection guy might know, or will know some people who you can contact
also keep in mind the sellers may promise to fix it by maybe replacing bits of wood or getting the termites, but they may miss something which comes back to get you later..
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June 15th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
i owned a house that had termites and i can honestly say DO NOT BUY IT. you can fix the damage done but they will aways be around and the risk is not worth the hassle. i had all the treatments done but they are still here. i sold my house to a builder at a very reduced rate. but i was just glad to get rid of it, just like your sellers would be to you
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June 15th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
i would say no…just because even if the owner agrees to fix it chances are that the problem will still come back…you never know..
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June 15th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
It depends on what you are paying for the house, and how sever the damage is. The inspector should have told you all of this. If he didn’t, call him and ask for his opinion. I have seen houses with damage and an abatement system. There are steps that you can take to keep them from coming back. You really need to make the inspector tell you more than he has. You paid for the inspection, you are entitled to as must information and his profession opinion on how many might be in the house and what the chances are of getting them all out. Good luck.
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June 15th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
You can NEVER totally get rid of termites. You’ll be spending $$$$ forever to keep them at bay.
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Had a termite home. SOld it for a big loss.
June 15th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Absolutely not… termites are the hardest "pest" to get rid of and wen they are found in one area of a house its not long before they are found in another location.. And they will tear at the foundation of the house and even when you "fix" the problem unless the owner is willing to pay a hefty fee they would only be "limiting"/"controlling" the problem.. So I wuld not invest a lot of money in that house unless it is THE HOUSE OF YOUR DREAMS!
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My aunt and best friend both work for different pest control service companies
June 15th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
I do not think you should buy the house. Even if the seller agrees to fix what is wrong, it’s still no guarantee that everything will be ok. If the roof and garage are treated and fixed, you could still have some very big problems in the future because termites move. The termites that are in those two locations could be nothing compared to the colony that is foraging in the soil that could easily be thousands.The termites in the soil could infest another location in the house. They might already have even though the inspection did not show it.
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June 15th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
House of your dreams or not, it will be difficult to get rid of an active infestation, particularly since they’ve been found in areas of garage and *up* on the roof — that would mean they’re around the base of the property somewhere too. There’re other dream houses on the market. Listen to other cautionary tales here.
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June 15th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
I wouldn’t buy it. The seller will probably try to get the cheapest job done. He was already too cheap to have a termite bond.
Don’t forget this. They ate their way to the roof. That is the only way they could have gotten there.
With the real estate market the way it is there is absolutely no reason to take a chance on buying a problem house no matter how much you love it.
You know rule one when buying a house is walk away if everything isn’t the way you want it. Never fall in love with a house, it’s like grocery shopping when you are starving only way more expensive!
References :
June 15th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Has the inspector said if they are actually active termites, or is it just termite damage that has been done some time ago? We bought a house that had some termite damage to its roof, but it was only minor damage done to very hard timber, and the termites went elsewhere, and not in the house.
It is a very big risk to take, which we thought of long and hard, but because it was such a long time since the termites had been active, we took the risk.
Good luck whatever you decide
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June 15th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Termites usually eat their way up. They must carry moisture from the ground up to make their mud runs as they go. They usually eat as the go also. I would trace their origin from the top down to insure there is not other damage all the way down.
Termite damage can be isolated to just one or two areas and if repairs are made it is fine. Remember though that this house is apparently an attractive target so take preventative chemical treatment to keep them from coming back. Once an inspection reveals termite damage, the realtor then has to disclose this to all other potential buyers – it is the law. So everyone else looking at this house should be told of this damage. Negotiate with the seller on the damage cost, but insist that the inspector find the entry path and show you where they came in and up to the roof. The owner should pay for the chemical treatment and repair the damages. If you want a better situation offer less so you can oversee the repairs and treatment. If I were buying it, I would want to be the person in charge of overseeing the repairs to insure all the damage was fixed correctly.
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G.C.