Termites!
Jul 17th 2009, 7:53 am
#1
Simply happy in Sydney!
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Woronora Heights, NSW
Posts: 274
Termites!
We have been looking for a house to buy for a while and a couple of weeks ago found pretty much the house of our dreams. It was for sale by auction and we saw it before it went on the market. We put in an offer, subject to finance and pest/buildings inspection. They wanted us to sign a 66W before accepting the offer, which I believe waives the cooling off period, so we told them that we would like to do a pest and building inspection before doing so.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, the pest inspection revealed termite 'mudding' in the en-suite cavity wall (it has a sliding door so he could look inside). They have advised us that a more invasive inspection would be advisable, because if they are upstairs then they may be more widespread than if they had been found downstairs. Phoned the EA, who phoned the vendors who were apparently completely surprised about termites being found
. They have apparently had routine inspections for which they can provide evidence after the weekend (they are away for a few days).
A little part of me is shouting "Run for the hills", but tbh, it really is the house of our dreams so I just wondered if anyone could answer a few questions for me. Can termite 'mudding' be found where there has been termite activity, but the activity has been treated and the termites gone (just like in the UK there can be signs of historical woodworm damage but no woodworm)? Does anyone have any idea/experience of what an invasive test costs and what the likely costs of getting it sorted out are, if found? Or is that a piece of string question?
The EA seems to think that the vendors will not be happy to agree to the invasive testing. Surely anyone getting a pest inspection will pick up on this, so it would be in their best interests to just get it done? Also, is it possible if the termites are found but not too bad, that rather than agree to a drop in the purchase price, we ask for the sellers to get the work done (so that we don't end up out of pocket by getting the house reduced by less than the work costs).
I know that termites are fairly widespread, so is it going to be the case that in every house we find we will have this issue, and therefore actually it isn't such a big deal?
I am prepared to walk away if I have to, but don't really know enough about termites etc to know which way to go.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, the pest inspection revealed termite 'mudding' in the en-suite cavity wall (it has a sliding door so he could look inside). They have advised us that a more invasive inspection would be advisable, because if they are upstairs then they may be more widespread than if they had been found downstairs. Phoned the EA, who phoned the vendors who were apparently completely surprised about termites being found
. They have apparently had routine inspections for which they can provide evidence after the weekend (they are away for a few days).A little part of me is shouting "Run for the hills", but tbh, it really is the house of our dreams so I just wondered if anyone could answer a few questions for me. Can termite 'mudding' be found where there has been termite activity, but the activity has been treated and the termites gone (just like in the UK there can be signs of historical woodworm damage but no woodworm)? Does anyone have any idea/experience of what an invasive test costs and what the likely costs of getting it sorted out are, if found? Or is that a piece of string question?
The EA seems to think that the vendors will not be happy to agree to the invasive testing. Surely anyone getting a pest inspection will pick up on this, so it would be in their best interests to just get it done? Also, is it possible if the termites are found but not too bad, that rather than agree to a drop in the purchase price, we ask for the sellers to get the work done (so that we don't end up out of pocket by getting the house reduced by less than the work costs).
I know that termites are fairly widespread, so is it going to be the case that in every house we find we will have this issue, and therefore actually it isn't such a big deal?
I am prepared to walk away if I have to, but don't really know enough about termites etc to know which way to go.
Jul 17th 2009, 8:35 am
#2
Is it the weekend yet?
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Thirroul, NSW
Posts: 1,619
Re: Termites!
If the vendors arent happy with the invasive inspection, walk away. They will have this problem with anyone putting an offer in on the house.
We lived in a house with termites and you could tell where they had been treated in the past by the state of the floorboards and little patch ups that had been done.
The pest inspection guys will also need to cover their own arses too.
We lived in a house with termites and you could tell where they had been treated in the past by the state of the floorboards and little patch ups that had been done.
The pest inspection guys will also need to cover their own arses too.
Jul 17th 2009, 8:45 am
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Termites!
I went through a similar thing when we bought our current house.
The pest report showed termite activity, the seller denied knowing anything.
It turned out that he had had substantial work done to fix the termite problems, and have a barrier put in.
Once I got my experts to check it out, it all turned out OK, but I was worried because the seller said there was nothing, although there was, and the seller was worried in case the mere mention of termites would scare buyers off.
I think I paid about an extra $500, which we got the seller to reduce the price by anyway.
He should have been honest up front, to save the aggro. In the end I bought a house that had already been termite treated, and not one that may have needed a barrier put in, at my cost, later.
But, definitely get it looked at by an expert termite company, before going ahead with the purchase, and get their opinion on the situation. They should be able to make small holes to check, and use the specialist equipment that they have these days, rather than ripping out entire walls.
You do not want to buy a house like this one...
Termite mudding/damage to internal walls behind shower
The pest report showed termite activity, the seller denied knowing anything.
It turned out that he had had substantial work done to fix the termite problems, and have a barrier put in.
Once I got my experts to check it out, it all turned out OK, but I was worried because the seller said there was nothing, although there was, and the seller was worried in case the mere mention of termites would scare buyers off.
I think I paid about an extra $500, which we got the seller to reduce the price by anyway.
He should have been honest up front, to save the aggro. In the end I bought a house that had already been termite treated, and not one that may have needed a barrier put in, at my cost, later.
But, definitely get it looked at by an expert termite company, before going ahead with the purchase, and get their opinion on the situation. They should be able to make small holes to check, and use the specialist equipment that they have these days, rather than ripping out entire walls.
You do not want to buy a house like this one...
Termite mudding/damage to internal walls behind shower
Jul 17th 2009, 9:34 am
#4
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,808
Re: Termites!
We have been looking for a house to buy for a while and a couple of weeks ago found pretty much the house of our dreams. It was for sale by auction and we saw it before it went on the market. We put in an offer, subject to finance and pest/buildings inspection. They wanted us to sign a 66W before accepting the offer, which I believe waives the cooling off period, so we told them that we would like to do a pest and building inspection before doing so.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, the pest inspection revealed termite 'mudding' in the en-suite cavity wall (it has a sliding door so he could look inside). They have advised us that a more invasive inspection would be advisable, because if they are upstairs then they may be more widespread than if they had been found downstairs. Phoned the EA, who phoned the vendors who were apparently completely surprised about termites being found . They have apparently had routine inspections for which they can provide evidence after the weekend (they are away for a few days).
A little part of me is shouting "Run for the hills", but tbh, it really is the house of our dreams so I just wondered if anyone could answer a few questions for me. Can termite 'mudding' be found where there has been termite activity, but the activity has been treated and the termites gone (just like in the UK there can be signs of historical woodworm damage but no woodworm)? Does anyone have any idea/experience of what an invasive test costs and what the likely costs of getting it sorted out are, if found? Or is that a piece of string question?
The EA seems to think that the vendors will not be happy to agree to the invasive testing. Surely anyone getting a pest inspection will pick up on this, so it would be in their best interests to just get it done? Also, is it possible if the termites are found but not too bad, that rather than agree to a drop in the purchase price, we ask for the sellers to get the work done (so that we don't end up out of pocket by getting the house reduced by less than the work costs).
I know that termites are fairly widespread, so is it going to be the case that in every house we find we will have this issue, and therefore actually it isn't such a big deal?
I am prepared to walk away if I have to, but don't really know enough about termites etc to know which way to go.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, the pest inspection revealed termite 'mudding' in the en-suite cavity wall (it has a sliding door so he could look inside). They have advised us that a more invasive inspection would be advisable, because if they are upstairs then they may be more widespread than if they had been found downstairs. Phoned the EA, who phoned the vendors who were apparently completely surprised about termites being found
. They have apparently had routine inspections for which they can provide evidence after the weekend (they are away for a few days).A little part of me is shouting "Run for the hills", but tbh, it really is the house of our dreams so I just wondered if anyone could answer a few questions for me. Can termite 'mudding' be found where there has been termite activity, but the activity has been treated and the termites gone (just like in the UK there can be signs of historical woodworm damage but no woodworm)? Does anyone have any idea/experience of what an invasive test costs and what the likely costs of getting it sorted out are, if found? Or is that a piece of string question?
The EA seems to think that the vendors will not be happy to agree to the invasive testing. Surely anyone getting a pest inspection will pick up on this, so it would be in their best interests to just get it done? Also, is it possible if the termites are found but not too bad, that rather than agree to a drop in the purchase price, we ask for the sellers to get the work done (so that we don't end up out of pocket by getting the house reduced by less than the work costs).
I know that termites are fairly widespread, so is it going to be the case that in every house we find we will have this issue, and therefore actually it isn't such a big deal?
I am prepared to walk away if I have to, but don't really know enough about termites etc to know which way to go.
The insurance company only made a small contribution towards the claim.
Small and localised maybe repairable. Ground to roof framing damage is usually big $$$ to repair.
Running now may be an option...
WW
