Termite damage in floorboards – thoughts?

Hi,

Not sure on the cost, but make sure you check that the stumps have not been damaged – this will be what costs you the most!

Thanks,

Kate

Tread carefully – it might look like a good deal on the surface but could potentially cost you heaps.

I take it that a pest inspection came up with the finding – do they have an idea of the extent of the damage and likelihood of it getting worse? Have they provided an idea of how much it will cost to rectify? If you get serious about the purchase – perhaps get a second inspection done by another company just to make sure the advice is accurate.

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Babyflynn, 

I have been renovating and building for almost 25 years now and whilst i agree with moxi10 as to exercise caution. This could be an opportunity. Negotiate the purchase price down once you have determined to your best ability the extent of the damage with the assistance of experts actually looking at and inside the building. Do up some estimates of repair and add 30-40% to it and negotiate that figure off the purchase price.  Termite damage can be good. It scares other buyers away. Yet it can be easy to repair. Or if it wasn't inspected properly, a real disaster as moxi points out. 

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Andrew

Hi all,

Babyflynn, have you had your own pest inspection done? I'm a bit concerned that you have written 'the agent disclosed, and another purchaser' what about a proper pest inspection, what has that told you?

The problem with relying on other people rather than your own experts is that, as others have said, it could really cost you big time.

I did purchase a property with termite damage (vic) however the damage was minimal and the termites had been treated 5 years previously and were not active at the time of purchase. The agent disclosed nothing, the termite damage was found during our building and pest inspection which we paid for.

The only properties I don't pay for building and pest inspections on are ones I'm going to knock over!

Other than that, if you get an inspection done, and they say the damage is just in the boards, and an easy fix (you can replace the floor boards with particle board flooring and stick carpet or floating floor boards over the top) then maybe there is an opportunity for you to negotiate a good price. Just please do some more homework

Cheers

D

Thanks Babyflynn

It's one of those jobs that's going to depend on if you do it, or a builder and how much floor you have to re-do. It's not the worst job, and depending on the amount of floor it may not cost the earth, but check it out properly.

As Kate said above, if it's stumps, just start jogging quietly in the other direction.

If it's up for auction and you are serious, still pay for the inspection, it's a cost of doing business correctly. Even if you miss out on it at auction, or decide you don't want it as the termites are still crawling it's well worth the small sum. Better to burn $500 than $5000 or more…..

Cheers

D

Hi Babyflynn,

The first of three properties i looked at before deciding on the one i have just purchased had termites.

The property had everything going for it,close to town, a big flat block and nice reno potential without spending too much. I really had my mind set on this property. I arranged a pest and building inspection as a matter of course and low behold the property had termites. The inspector said he couldnt see live termites but there was termite damage in the subfloor and in the detached garage. I was still pretty keen to go through with the property but would renegotiate the purchase price to take in the repairs.

The pest inspector suggested i get a thermal check done to see if there were live termites in the property. I agreed, as I wanted to know if the termites had moved on and the damage was just limited to those two areas. A thermal check was carried out and live termites were detected in the wall of one of the bedrooms.The inspector also said you could hear them making a popping sound. The pest guy spoke to the tenant and was told that there have been termites there for ages. The Tenant said he has already lost two timber cupboards that were sitting in the garage due to termite damage. The tenant is a friend of the vendor and i cant imagine him not letting the vendor know about the termites.

The vendor seemed surprised that there were termites in the property and suggested that she would get it fixed for a couple of hundred dollars. I was still keen to go through with the sale but i needed to get a quote from a carpenter to see how much it would cost to repair the damage.

The quote to replace almost all of the detached garage, subfloor sections under the kitchen, and replace/repair damage to one of the bedroom walls was almost 20k. I was still wanting to go through with the sale and even suggested I pay 5k of the carpenters bill if she would reduce the purchase price down 15k. The vendor refused to budge, even putting her price up if she was to carry out any repairs. I decided eventually that it wasnt worth it and withdrew from the sale. The vendor immediately pulled it from the market and two weeks later it was relisted again but this time at a higher price. 

Shane