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OKay.. so help me out.. because you always see pics of peoples houses chewed apart, or you hear stories of $50k worth of damage due to termites. I thought termites were a deal killer in most real estate transactions.
Unless I missed it you haven't said that any of the inspections or reinspections have turned up any evidence of 1) Termite damage or 2) Live termites in your house.
Do you think you might be overreacting just a bit?
Silverfall,
I have lived in Oregon my whole life.. never heard of anyone having termites.
Tonight I found damage next to my front door drywall. Paint just pushed in found tracks in the drywall up the wall.. not sure how extensive the damage or how far up it goes.
I also found one of the 2x4s that hold up my front entry was eaten through almost completely on one end. So I will also need some repairs.
Silverfall,
I have lived in Oregon my whole life.. never heard of anyone having termites.
Tonight I found damage next to my front door drywall. Paint just pushed in found tracks in the drywall up the wall.. not sure how extensive the damage or how far up it goes.
I also found one of the 2x4s that hold up my front entry was eaten through almost completely on one end. So I will also need some repairs.
Doesn't sound major at all. But even still you should go back to being a renter. I am surprised the wife hasn't booted you out of the house yet. Do you complain like this to her? What kind of man moans about everything????
Silverfall,
I have lived in Oregon my whole life.. never heard of anyone having termites.
Tonight I found damage next to my front door drywall. Paint just pushed in found tracks in the drywall up the wall.. not sure how extensive the damage or how far up it goes.
I also found one of the 2x4s that hold up my front entry was eaten through almost completely on one end. So I will also need some repairs.
I see termite tubes 2-3 times a year in houses I'm involved with in transactions. I helped clients buy or sell 32 last year. Maybe one of those times a year, I see live termites in a house. It just isn't a big deal for most home buyers. The damage you are describing sounds minor to me.
The termite situation isn't complicated. They like cellulose. It means that homes on acreage are desirable because people tend to have trees, wood debris from projects, firewood/sticks from downed trees, etc on their property. That makes WDO's happy. Older homes tend to have fireplaces in Oregon which means firewood, often stored close to the house. This makes WDO's happy. These lots also tend to be larger because they are pre-UGB, and they have more trees, which means more decaying wood from downed branches, etc. Again, WDO heaven.
Newer construction homes have few trees on the property, and when they clear entire subdivisions, they remove a lot of dirt and termites that were there from the property. Any remaining termites will take a while to rebuild their colonies and get into homes. You don't see termites in new homes, generally speaking.
The newest home that I have personally seen termites in was a client that had a water heater than had been leaking for a good couple of years and was too cheap to replace it. That client had a lot of junk (some wood debris) stored at the side of the house where that leaking water heater was. Not surprisingly, that client created conditions that make termites happy. Lots of wood to eat and water nearby. The client had some nice termite tubes in the garage in a 1985 home. So instead of just spending $750 to replace the water heater when it started leaking, the client spend $2,000 to treat an activity colony of termites AND changed out the water heater for a buyer.
Yes, the buyer bought the house with an active termite colony on the inspection report.
Honestly, it sounds like only buying newer construction might be better for you. You are having a lot of anxiety over normal older house issues. How old was your previous house?
In Oregon (where the OP is) 99% of home inspectors look for WDO's along with their regular inspections. They are required by law to state if the WDO is included with their full home inspection or not. The OP's inspector stated on the report that doing a WDO was part of the full home inspection. The inspector botched it and missed the tubes. Most inspectors have a clause in their report that they are only liable for the cost of the home inspection and not anything else.
Well, repair the damage you found and get the house termite treated. If you live in an area with termites, it's a good thing to get a periodic termite treatment even if you don't find termite damage. In our area, every five to seven years for older houses is a good time frame. The treatments run about $1,200 so it's not too bad since that's comes out to less than $200 per year on a seven year schedule.
As for buying a house with termite damage, if you're willing to repair it, you can get a really good deal on a house. This is the living room of the house we bought late last year. We didn't get a termite inspection since the reason the house was priced so low was because of the existing termites. This is a picture from the initial walk through with the Realtor and we had to sign a waiver that if we fell through the floor because of the termite damage we wouldn't sue.
The house was sold for the price of vacant land, so it is essentially a "free" house. It's taking a bit of work, but most of the termite damage was in the ceilings, so the house itself is salvageable. Built in the 1940's, it has character and a great location, so it's a worthy project. Going to take awhile, though, but you have to pay for things one way or another.
This is the living room of the house we bought late last year.
I bow down to you.
I always yell at the idiots on HGVTV who can't look past yellow wallpaper, but this...This is just awesome.
Awesome: "exhibiting or marked by awe; showing reverence, admiration, or fear."
Okay.. so update with some positive news.
Brought another guy out today. $1200 to treat for termites. They do the whole ground trenching drilling slab thing.
Inspector and I talked yesterday and today. He agrees his guy missed it. They will pay for the whole treatment.
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Holy Smokes
