Dead ants on home inspection (selling a home, process, buyers, buy)
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I'm not trying to argue with you so remember that when you read my comment.
Dead ants of unknown breed - then the solution was to apply seven
Here I am a buyer interested in your house. I see you had some type of ant problem - and haven't we all? but I might not be happy that you didn't have the house professionally treated because there is no way to prove what type of ants they were. Now I have no clue if there are bad ants in your walls.
If I am going to offer on your house, I am going to inspect a little better to find out if there is a potential ant problem - and what if it turns out that there is? You could be opening a whole new & bigger can of worms.
While it sounds comical.. them bringing up the dead ants, it very well may not be. How would you feel as the buyer of this house?
BTW, good job with upkeep on your house that this was "all" that was found.
I don't know where you all come from but I don't know anyone that has an ant or pest free home. Pest problems will always be a problem. It goes along with owning a house. In a Buyers market, buyers feel they can have everything their way and I guess they can depending on who the Seller is.
Dead ants of unknown breed - then the solution was to apply seven
Here I am a buyer interested in your house. I see you had some type of ant problem - and haven't we all? but I might not be happy that you didn't have the house professionally treated because there is no way to prove what type of ants they were. Now I have no clue if there are bad ants in your walls.
If I am going to offer on your house, I am going to inspect a little better to find out if there is a potential ant problem - and what if it turns out that there is? You could be opening a whole new & bigger can of worms.
While it sounds comical.. them bringing up the dead ants, it very well may not be. How would you feel as the buyer of this house?
I hear what you are saying but they can investigate all they want... carpenter ants need water and rotten wood... get rid of those two things and they are gone, that is exactly what we have done. BTW, we don't have any walls on the detached garage it's more like an outbuilding. I guess being the buyer who bought the house that did have rotten wood and garage roof that needed to be replaced (w/ multiple offers) I am irked she is whining about dead ants!
an exterminator to kill dead ants. they were not dead enough?
Yeah, exactly! This is why home inspections drive me crazy from a seller point of view. I once sold a condo and the home inspector wrote down that there were crickets in the crawlspace under the building. Well, the crawlspace isn't part of my unit - it's common area basically. And since when are crickets a big problem anyhow? The buyer actually put the "cricket problem" on her repair request! I just replied that it wasn't my responsibility - but you can see I still find it annoying 10 years later!
well it is hind site now but when you got to the point of losing money you should have gone to an as -is contract. That would have prevented the ants issue, not the microwave. I know it seems petty but attend to the two details and move on.
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hmtklein
I am selling my house (NY state) and so far it has been going very smoothly. The inspector only found dead ants in the attic of my garage and the buyer expects me to hire an exterminator to spray my garage - this falls under the $1500 mark. I think this a petty pain in my butt. I don't have to do it right? I am annoyed they added my unattached microwave into the contract as well... they are getting a great deal on my house - I feel like they are nickle and diming me over stupid stuff, we are already losing money on the sale of our house. What do you think?
I'd focus on the ants and not focus on getting rid of your house. It's more important to be right than to get the millstone off your neck.
I mean, you could look at it as "How much more will I have to pay on this asset which has already lost money" vs. "How much would an exterminator and a new microwave cost to get rid of this asset."
I wouldn't do it. Stand your ground. Get some dead ants. Throw them at people when they walk in and scream, "THEY'RE DEAD! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!! CAN'T YOU SEE THEY ARE DEAD??!!!", then laugh maniacally. That's what I would do. Laugh while crying. It'll get 'em - right here,
I wandered onto this thread by accident. I can't believe how ridiculous this discussion is!! I just lost a serious cash buyer b/c of a much BIGGER problem...they found thru lab testing a low level of asbestos in our attic insulation, something that is probably in just about every house built before 1970. I was willing to come down 5 grand to get the insulation taken out and replaced. No go with the buyer. Get real!!!! Any seller unwilling to concede several hundred $ more is being egotistical about their house. I don't know where you are, dead-ant owner, but in my area and most areas of the country today you can't get anywhere NEAR the offer you got! Count your blessings and call the x-terminator today. And microwaves, with all their radiation, are hazardous anyway! Be glad that's all they asked for~~polish it up for them!!!
I'd focus on the ants and not focus on getting rid of your house. It's more important to be right than to get the millstone off your neck.
I mean, you could look at it as "How much more will I have to pay on this asset which has already lost money" vs. "How much would an exterminator and a new microwave cost to get rid of this asset."
I wouldn't do it. Stand your ground. Get some dead ants. Throw them at people when they walk in and scream, "THEY'RE DEAD! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!! CAN'T YOU SEE THEY ARE DEAD??!!!", then laugh maniacally. That's what I would do. Laugh while crying. It'll get 'em - right here,
I think the owner should call an exterminator to spray the entire property with the most potent insecticide available (preferably illegally obtained in bulk from a third world country and applied via irrigation pivot). This will require an extra-special exterminator, one who is search for his grand finale extermination job. One that may cost him his life...or at least cost him his ability to reproduce.
To be safe, remove all living flora and fauna within a 2 mile radius via napalm to prevent future reinfestation of those horrible flying fertile ants. You might be able to find some military contractor that just got suppoenaed for Iraqi war crimes willing to do the job extra cheap.
After all, we gotta protect this little unattached, unfinished, ant magnent of a garage. Screw the fact that it's in a hot market and no current infestation was or damage was found. This will probably receive additional offers down the road, even with a dead ant infestation in the disclosure, but you just can't take any chances because everyone else is starving to sell a home out there.
Last edited by Rumblebelly; 05-13-2009 at 08:10 PM..
you're talking about selling a house and not willing to have an exterminator come in if that would make prospective buyers feel at ease with that issue. My question is what else are you hiding hoping someone want somehow find out before you sell it to some poor unsuspecting buyer? A $100 is nothing when in the process of selling a home. Seems pretty petty to me. I would walk away from it. Wondering what else cannot be seen.
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but in my area and most areas of the country today you can't get anywhere NEAR the offer you got! Count your blessings and call the x-terminator today. And microwaves, with all their radiation, are hazardous anyway! Be glad that's all they asked for~~polish it up for them!!!
