Question:the law regarding termite clerance letter during house purchase (bank owned, sales)

[June1102]

Hi forks,

Does anybody know the TN law regarding the termite clearance letter. We are buying a bank owned property. Our inspector said TN law requires the seller to give a termite clearance letter no matter whether this is bank owned/AS IS or not. However, our agent (dual agent) said we buyer need to hire one of those companies to check and give the letter, since there is a sentence in the binding contract says: "Seller shall be limited to $0.00 for Lender required repairs; $0.00 for Termite inspections/repairs and $0.00 for the following repairs n/a."

If there is such law in TN, can you please let me know where can I find it. I need to show the agent that sentence.

Please HELP!

[mbmouse]

I hate to ask you this, but did you sign the contract with that clause in there?
If so, I believe contract supersedes. I believe the phrasing is that by signing it, you "waved" holding the seller to that clause about termite inspections.
But I could be wrong, where are all the Realtors on here??? What do you guys think?

[EVAunit1981]

I used to sell real estate.

I would really want to look at the contract to be 100% sure, but here is my 2 cents.

It sounds to me like mbmouse is right. You signed a contract which holds the Seller responsible for $0.00 of the required termite inspection. Yes, termite inspections are required on all sales in the state of Tennessee. I don't think this can be wavied even if both parties wish to have it waived.

Unsoliticed advice: Having wasted a few years of my life trying to eek out a living in the world of real estate, I have to tell you that you should never under any circumstances have a dual agent! Almost all Realtors that are honest and ethical will not be a dual agent. There is too much risk and liability involved. Also, you really are not able to service both of your customers fully.

Agents that have an REO/Bank owned property listed usually handle a lot of such properities. Banks like to find someone that is an effective salesperson, and then give that person all of their business (listings). If it really comes down to it, who do you think your agent will want to help more, you or the bank that will very likely give him repeat business?

[shadowwalker]

When we sold our house, we had to pass one of these. One question to ask the inspector. Show me the damage.
And if they show you some holes on wood down by the foundation or support beams (on the bottom by the ground) make sure it is NOT facial damage done by other bugs testing the wood. This almost didn't let us sell our house. One inspector was inexperienced and the other one that looked after I questioned it. Said it was not termites.

[hiknapster]

Yes. I just bought a house. Had the termite inspection and certificate. We had in the contract that the seller would cover the costs.

[jchometeam]

I agree with those who said that you have signed the contract allowing the bank to not pay for this fee. If the lender requires it, and ive never had any that didnt, you may have to pay the $60-$70 for it. I hope that you have an inspection period allowing you to not buy the property if the termite letter shows damage.

Im not beating up on June for signing the contract that way, as many of the large banks simply will not pay for anything like that. They dont listen to their agents very well, they would rather hold onto it until someone comes along either with cash or that is willing to pay for all these costs.

I agree with the previous remark about dual agents. While its technically legal in Tennessee, I would never do it and dont consider it ethical.