I put a deposit down on a home the other day, but active termites have been found under the back porch on a piece of wood and shovel . Home is vacant. No termites were found inside the home. Im having a second Pest Inspector look thruout the home. The home is in Florida which is common for termites. At what point would you pass on a home with them ? Thanks.
First time home buyer aren't you??
If an active infestation were found, as it sounds like there was, I would expect the seller to treat the property at their expense.
If there was no or non-significant structural damage I would more than likely go ahead and buy it. I would try to get any needed repairs made at the seller's expense.
Termites do not fly into and then consume a structure. They must have a path (mud tube" back to the ground. The makes tracking their travels fairly easy for a pro.
Colbyt
Floridians assume their homes will, at some point, be infested with termites. Our condo, 40 y/o, has been tented twice (last about 12 yrs. ago). I would EXPECT to find termites on bare wood lying on the ground - they are normal, natural and widespread. The U. of Florida has lots of good information about termites, signs to look for and methods of prevention.
Subterranean and dry/dampwood termites require entirely different control methods. Welcome to Florida :o)
This depends on who you voted for. It's kinda funny when you think that termites are only found in the red states. The Lord knows that Republicans love wars, so he provides them with termites so they got something to wage war against.
As far as when to pass on the house..... If you discover that there is only a piece of land, a rock foundation, and some pieces of metal flashing and pipe, it may be too late.....
If the shovel was out in the day they were not termites. If it passes buy it, but you may still have hidden damage.
When subterranean termites had infested the house, not dry wood termites which are what yours sound like. However, one does not normally find any kind of termite ON the wood but IN it. Did they look like this?
On Wed, 5 Nov 2008 06:41:43 -0800 (PST), " snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com" wrote Re At what point would YOU pass on a potential home where termites have been found ????:
Get estimates (at least two, three is better) as to what it would cost to treat the infestation and correct the damage. Then see if the seller will reduce the sales price for the amounts. It's open to negotiation.
My ex-wife was, at one point before we met, a high priced callgirl. She would tell her gyno Dr. Spano that as long as he wore gloves he could charge her the going rate, but without the gloves she'd be chargin' him the going rate
when it fell down.
s
Mud tubes are built by subterranean termites to go from ground to wood. Termites DO fly into and "consume structures" ... swarms (mating pairs) fly off to start new colonies. Takes a while to "consume" a structure, but eating up joists or rafters would be a definite negative....
wrote
When the wall shows small holes where they have egressed out and they are all the way up the wall. Means structural damage. A small exterior infestatin just means you need a good ground treatment. Don't get cheap there. One of the 2 name brand companies has stuff that treats for 15 years. The other lasts but 2-3 at best.
"Colbyt" wrote
Probably too late if he's already signed. That said, if i let the homeowner do it, *I* specify the company. Alternative, I take the company *I* want off the cost for initial services. (Maintenance followup is not the job of the seller but a 200$ a year or so thing you just gotta have in some areas).
I haven't seen a offer to purchase contract written in the last 30 years without an out for "termite infestation".
Now if this is some self written contract, he may have a problem.
Colbyt
I'd pass and look elsewhere, as there seems to be a huge supply of houses for sale.
It's not even clear to me if there were any termites found in the actual structure itself, or just in a piece of wood and shovel that were on the ground under the porch. I'd certainly have it closely inspected and treated, at the seller's expense. If no termites damage was found in the actual structure, it's obviously much less of an issue. Whether to pass is more of a personal decision and depends on many factors, like how great this house is otherwise, price, other houses that are available, etc.
Locally we have a company that has a lifetime treatment that repels the termites.
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