Buy a REO with termites? (sale, how much, house)

[coorsleftfield]

I have an offer in on a REO, and found out that the bank had it treated for termites. The house is 14 years old, and has had no previous termite inspections from records.

Looks like they found around 5 mud tubes, and treated the house. They did not check for other damage citing inaccessibility due to drywall and insulation in the attic.

My understanding is that termites are easily treatable so I'm not concerned about future termites. My big concern is the unknown of how long these termites were in the house, and how much damage they did.

Would it be best to walk away from this sale given the unknown of damage already done ?

[Ponderosa]

Termites around here rarely do any damage beyond cosmetic stuff to the drywall (they eat the paper) even if they are neglected for years. 5 tubes is nothing. Forget about it.

[Voebe]

Why don't you try calling the state department - used to be called Structural Pest Control, but I'm not sure what it is now - and ask if perhaps they could have someoen look it over with you and give an opinion?

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by coorsleftfield

I have an offer in on a REO, and found out that the bank had it treated for termites. The house is 14 years old, and has had no previous termite inspections from records.

Looks like they found around 5 mud tubes, and treated the house. They did not check for other damage citing inaccessibility due to drywall and insulation in the attic.

My understanding is that termites are easily treatable so I'm not concerned about future termites. My big concern is the unknown of how long these termites were in the house, and how much damage they did.

Would it be best to walk away from this sale given the unknown of damage already done ?

If it were me, I'd look up who actually treated the place & talk to them myself. I wouldn't take anyone's word for it, or speculate based on a report.

The link to find the company that treated the house is here:

AZ OPM - ERROR

If it was really just a few tubes, that's not a big deal - but I'd want to hear that from the person that actually treated the place, as opposed to from an agent, or from the seller's disclosure.

[AZ Tracy]

If a property has been treated for termites, it should come with a warranty. Find out who treated it and ask about the warranty. You can usually pay a little to have the warranty extended, too. Good luck!