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We are buying a house in NJ. The seller disclosure marked "no" regarding knowledge of termites etc but the house inspection revealed termite damage in some of the wood next to newer wood that was replaced obviously due to termite damage. The inspector said repair is fine as long as it was accompanied by termite treatment.
So our real estate attorney requested a treatment with 1 year warranty from the sellers and/or prior termite treatment paperwork. There was no paperwork so the sellers got a quote of $1500 treatment from Terminex asking us to pay half. Does this quote sound accurate for a 2700 sq ft house in NJ?
Last edited by Beagoodneighbor2; 11-26-2019 at 05:36 PM..
Personally, I'm not a big fan of Terminex. I prefer to hire local pest control companies. I feel the level of work done and level of customer service is often superior than what you would get at a big chain/franchise operation like Terminex.
As for the cost . . . your real estate agent would be a great resource for this. I'm not sure we have anyone who posts here from NJ who would know local pricing on something like this.
What kind of world do we live in, where you cannot trust your Real Estate Agent, nor the Pest Removal service whom has a voluminous reputation.....
and in a court of law we are found at a loss because we should have known better?
What kind of world do we live in, where you cannot trust your Real Estate Agent, nor the Pest Removal service whom has a voluminous reputation.....
and in a court of law we are found at a loss because we should have known better?
...and we paid good money for both
There is always documentation from the pest and termite people. A buyer should have it in hand.
Terminex is generally more expensive than a local, non-franchise, non-corporate provider.
The $1500 sounds about right for a Terminex franchisee in a high-cost state like NJ, but I agree with MikePRU. I would shop it with local people.
We had treatment from ABCon two years ago in southern NJ for $1400. No damage, so preventative treatment only, but it was quite involved with a lot of drilling holes in concrete etc. 3 guys working for over 8 hours. So your price seems about right. It should already come with 1 year warranty with options to renew it every year. Some of the bigger companies were pitching using "bait" out in the yard instead of drilling and applying along the foundation, which I found suspect. All four of the quotes I received were similarly priced, just different approaches.
I don't think I'd agree to pay half, though. They obviously tried to hide it and lied about it, so make them pay! Of course it depends on a lot of personal factors, like how bad you want the house, etc.
Since there was some damage, I'd be concerned that there is more that you haven't discovered yet. And I'm very surprised that someone who had termite damage wouldn't have hired a pest control company to treat afterwards. Just the mere sight of a couple termites snooping around drove me to cough up the cash! There are a lot of areas that are highly susceptible to termites here in NJ, so I wouldn't don't take chances.
I don't think I'd agree to pay half, though. They obviously tried to hide it and lied about it, so make them pay! Of course it depends on a lot of personal factors, like how bad you want the house, etc.
Since there was some damage, I'd be concerned that there is more that you haven't discovered yet. And I'm very surprised that someone who had termite damage wouldn't have hired a pest control company to treat afterwards. Just the mere sight of a couple termites snooping around drove me to cough up the cash! There are a lot of areas that are highly susceptible to termites here in NJ, so I wouldn't don't take chances.
Good luck to you on the house!
I don't know what the NJ disclosure requires, but at least in NC, where termite damage is frequent, the disclosure says "any past damage that has not been repaired".
If the joist was found with inactive damage, and the new joist sistered, that's repair. If active termites were found only there, and spot treated, then the sistered joist, that's also repaired.
line 70, question 20 would seem to put the Seller's answer in question, certainly if THEY had the repair done (which would also call into ? the answer to #16-18).
Still, possible the work was done before their purchase, depending on how long they'd owned the home.
You're right though, Bo, I did jump to a conclusion without the facts. Maybe they didn't know.
If it were me, I'd still insist they pay for the treatment in full. But that's just me.
I've had many friends go through devastating termite damage, due to the NJ penchant for bulldozing trees and orchards and building new homes on top. I'd want a thorough inspection and treatment at a minimum before even considering the house. That's just been my experience, and why I have trouble believing they didn't know, but not everyone is as sensitive about the issue as me, (at least until they have to pay out for structural damage).
But back to the question, the price is close to what I paid and to the other three quotes I received. The chemical they use is expensive, and it's a time consuming process. I agree that a local company would probably be a better choice over the big chains. They seem to count on the odds that there probably won't be a reinfestation, and then try to weasle out of paying if there is, (Google some reviews on the national chains).
The Abcon service I used were local family owned with a lot of experience. They guaranteed for three years, which was better than the others. In fact, they're coming out today to re-inspect and treat if necessary which is all part of the original price. After the initial 3 year period, we can renew year to year for additional cost.
Whether they pay, you pay, or you both pay half, definitely get it done and stay on top of it afterwards!
I think it also depends on whether there is an accompanying "termite bond". Seems like we were worried that our termite bond had lapsed on the house we sold in Charlotte and were quoted ~$1K for a renewal of the bond, which included an inspection. I might be mis-rembering the quote, though.
This was a ~3600 sq/ft house in NC where termite inspection/treatment/bonding is very common.
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Price seems right...
