Inspector found termite damage, what should the seller pay for?

16 years ago

Hello all,

We recently went under agreement on a 1700sq ft. colonial in Massachusetts. Our home inspector found some evidence of termite damage during his inspection and recommended a pest inspector. The pest inspector looked at the place today and found portions of the sill need to be replaced as well some wood laying on the slab in the garage.

The seller's did not previously disclose anything about termite damage and I think this is news to them as well as us. What is reasonable for us to request of the sellers? Should we have them repair the structural damage and pay for termite treatment, or are we better to reduce the sale price during P&S and hire people to do the work ourselves?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

lyfia
16 years ago
I would rather have the reduced price and have the work done myself just to make sure it is done the way I want it done.
limoncello
16 years ago
What does your contract say about who pays for termite damage? Every agreement for purchase & sale I've submitted has specified that the seller pays for treatment and for repair of damage or credits the buyer for the cost to repair. If you have a choice, personally I'd prefer the credit and hire my own contractor to ensure the job was done to my satisfaction. Of course, if you and the seller agree to give you a credit, you're on the hook if repairs end up costing more than anticipated.

Your mortgage holder may require the treatment and repairs to be done prior to closing.
Related Discussions
Seller doesn't want to pay for anything, so far...
Q
Comments (36)
"I personally would not cut the seller slack for this being an investment property unless he knew you were a professional investor but you are not." It is not slack, he does not care. Not his problem or concern. He is selling an investment property. "He is selling a home in a residential market and he has to expect most of his buyers are buying as a home." As far as the owner is concerned it is an investment. If you want a cheaper property this is often a good place to look. Investment properties are seldom in perfect condition, rarely have top-of-the-line anything, and are often sold at less than premium prices for this reason. "In my area you do the inspection first, work out any issues and then go to contractÂ" Not the norm in the vast majority of the country. This is mostly a New York and surrounds thing. In most places a contract is negotiated by passing the paperwork back and forth and marking it up and initialing. Once both sides sign without a change it is a VALID contract. In many places a lawyer is not involved until settlement, if at all. NY and some nearby areas seem to be the home of the lawyer for everything RE transactions. Great way to drive up costs. Old houses need work. Unless you have the knowledge to repair them you need very deep pockets.
...See More
Sellers - how much did you pay after inspection?
Q
Comments (12)
A home inspection is not a code inspection by nationally accepted standardsÂ..and all state licensing. It is a popular fallacy that inspecting for code is part of a home inspection, but it is not...it is beyond the scopeÂand usually states as such in the pre-inspection agreement that should be provided to the buyer prior to inspection. It is indeed an inspection of the major systems and structure of the homeÂÂas well as an inspection for safety issues. While safety issues are often code violations, depending upon where one resides and their city/town code, a safety issue may or may not be a code violation. Realistically, no home inspector can be expected to know the code variances for every municipality in his/her state, and to keep on top of the constant changesÂ..which is why most municipalities have their own licensed code officials who are knowledgeable about the local code requirements. In addition, older homes have an inherent number of code violationsÂÂBUT they are grandfathered in are if they are original to the home and only must be brought to current code if a renovation is performed. This does not mean that home inspectors know nothing about codeÂsome know quite a bitÂsome know next to nothing. However, if they are not trained as code inspectors any code violations that a home inspector pontificates upon should absolutely be verified as such by the local a municipality code inspector, before any funds are spent to make changes. Anything cited as a safety issue should come with an explanation as to why it poses a safety hazard. Logic dictates that anything that compromises safety should be repaired. Last but not least, in such a buyers market, it really would behoove sellers to make all repairs beforehand, leaving little if anything to interfere with the deal once the findings of the home inspection are provided to the buyer.
...See More
Water Damage/Is seller accountable???
Q
Comments (14)
I did not see mention of a sump pump. Does this house have one? Properly installed? Properly built for sump drainage? Properly operating? Basement flooring should never be installed until proper drainage has been installed, and then the potential for moisture must be considered when choosing materials and methods of finishing a basement floor. Successful sump operation begins with the construction of the footings. At the time the footings are poured, porous drain tiles on the inside perimeter of the footing and a second set of tiles laying on top of the footing outside the basement wall should be installed and pitched to drain to the sump well. These tiles are covered with gravel to permit easy flow of water into the tiles. If these are missing, a concrete basement floor will have excessive moisture during wet periods. Roof drains: How is the water from the roof directed once it gets to the ground? If it pours our near the basement wall, it will move down the wall and pool at the footing. Putting extensions on the downspouts to move water a few feet away from the house helps, but needs good pitch of the soil to carry the water away from the house. This is not always possible. The best way to move roof water away from the house is to install dry wells to receive water from the downspouts. The dry wells must have drain lines to move the water to an exit some distance from the house or to a storm sewer. A drain to some place on the property is not always possible depending on the lay of the lot. In that case, draining to a storm sewer or road ditch is an option. In most locations, it is illegal to drain rain rain water to a sanitation sewer.
...See More
how big of a deal is termite damage??
Q
Comments (7)
Yes, there are two stages to satisfy concerns about termites: treatment and repair. By the way, many people refer to the report as a 'termite report' but the official name is Wood Destroying Organism Report. Unofficially called a WDO report. The reason I am making a distinction is because it is more than termites that cause issues with the WDO report. Wood rot is more common than termites IME. To get a clear WDO report the structure can't have any wood rot nor termites (live nor dead). Assuming you don't have any termites nor evidence of termites, then make sure all the repairs are complete before you put it on the market. Yes, even in a hot market. Why? Because lenders require a clear WDO report before they will finance the property. Lenders get a copy of this specific report. Not necessarily the whole house report but a clear WDO is critical. You still have to disclose you had termites and you treated it (date treated) and made repairs. But that is far better than the buyers inspector finding wood rot and having the buyer back out due to fear as a result. If you handle it on the front end it is very easy. PS I'm a Realtor.
...See More
theroselvr
16 years ago
I'd want the treatment to be done now via seller paying for it, then I'd want credit for the repairs.
marge727
16 years ago
Your contract may say that the seller will pay for termite treatment but that repairs to the house might be paidby the buyer. What does it say about termite/pest control?
capnswill
Original Author
16 years ago
I don't have a copy of our offer here with me at the moment. I highly suspect however there's no language about who pays for termite damage repair.

So we made an offer and they've accepted, we're supposed to sign our purchase and sale agreement at the end of next week. We'll try to get some contractors out to look at the areas which need repair as soon as possible.

Should we run away from this house? From the pest inspector's report it seems the sill on one side of the house is damaged as well as the entire sill for the garage from carpenter ants. This is our first home purchase so we're understandably wary of signing up for a financial nightmare.
lyfia
16 years ago
How old is the house? In TX termites are common so it wouldn't worry me as it is hard to find a house that hasn't had them at some point somewhere. Here I would prefer a house that has been treated though.

I'm not sure how common this is in your area. I think talking to some contractors should give you an idea what is involved.
devorah
16 years ago
Our seller gave us a credit for making the repairs. I can't remember exactly how it was set up, but it was a fund we could draw on. The costs were in excess of the credit and we had to pay for that.
nelles_gw
16 years ago
capnswill:

Our previous home was in MA. When we bought it in 1983 from DH's parents, we discovered termite damage. His parents had been in the house 20 years and didn't know they had termites. The house was treated (don't remember the cost), and maintained the warranty on an annual basis.

Fast forward 20 years, and we discovered carpenter ants! Apparently, carpenter ants move in after termites have done all the work. Anyway, we had that problem taken care of by a company located in Littleton, I believe. And there's a company in Brockton who handles sill repair.

The problems you've found can be taken care of. If you love the house, and everything else is OK, I wouldn't let termites scare me away.

Good luck,
Ellen

BTW, where in MA are you?
deniseandspike
16 years ago
We found sill damage on the back of our house when we were getting it leveled. I believe the repair only cost about $300 to remove the old sill and stick a new one in. Very reasonable. Even if you have a larger area the cost of repair/replacement wouldn't scare me off a house I otherwise like. I would want them to contribute money towards the repair and then do it yourself. Repairing the sill can easily cause interior damage when they jack up the house to remove it so I would want to make sure I'm comfortable with the contractor doing the repair.

De

Inspector found termite damage, what should the seller pay for?

Comments (9)

lyfia

limoncello

Related Discussions

theroselvr

marge727

capnswill
Original Author

lyfia

devorah

nelles_gw

deniseandspike

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Inspector found termite damage, what should the seller pay for?

Comments (9)

Related Discussions

capnswillOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

capnswill
Original Author