In process of buying a home, so much confusion

[AuAltima3.5]

I'm a first time home buyer. I found a sweet place, so I put a contract on it.



During the home inspection, I noticed termite damage in the garage near the door. Termite inspector says it's recent, active, and needs to be treated. :shifty: ... ok, I can deal with this, right?



Just renegotiate for it to be fixed, should be ok, right?



My bank came back about 1.5wks after starting financing and wants to tear down the wall to see how extensive the damage is. I am comforted by this gesture, but at this same time, wonder if it's necessary? Many houses have termite damage. I guess my inner Autopian agrees with the bank. Why try to sell a home that has visible damage? (it was on a baseboard)



My realtor says this "isn't fair" to keep the sellers waiting, and I should consider finding another lender. He thinks that my bank is too hard to work with.



My bank is ready to void financing, but I asked them to ask the seller about destructive evaluation (removing some drywall in garage).



Any advice?



EDIT: This house has a finished basement and no crawlspace, so joists and foundation are not 'inspectable.'

 

[uniquedetailing]

I just bought a house and had termite damage, we had no issues. it had to be treated but ive never heard of a lender that will make you tear down a wall. I would find someone else if you have issues

 

[Accumulator]

AuAltima3.5- I dealt with termite damage at my previous shop, and a family home I sold to a buddy had it too. It *CAN* be fixed 100%, but oh man would I want to do everything in an overkill/Autopian manner...and that's from first-hand observation of those two cases. It was a *BIG*, long, expensive job both times, with "after remediation" inspections that went on forever.



I'd follow your inner Autopian. The bank's looking out for their interest, right? I'd sure want to look out for *my own* interest at least as diligently. With the difficulties in doing the inspection, you sure don't want this to come back and bite you down the road.



I wouldn't care one whit about "being fair" to the seller with regard to this issue "keeping him waiting! He's the guy selling a termite-infested house; IMO he's lucky you don't just walk. Sure he wants it sold yesterday, he's trying to pawn the issue off onto you before it bites *his* A$$.



The realtor just wants the commision. The buyer just wants the problem house sold. You should just want what's right for you. CYA and get this done right.

 

[Dan]

My realtor says this "isn't fair" to keep the sellers waiting, and I should consider finding another lender. He thinks that my bank is too hard to work with.

Tell your realtor to pound sand. Looks like he/she just wants their commission. The bank is looking out for you, and more importantly their money. DO NOT RUSH INTO THIS. Don't worry about the house selling either, they are going to have to disclose why the last sale fell through, and no one is in a hurry to buy a house with termite damage.



As with any bug, when you see a few, it means there are a TON MORE. I'd do nothing less than bring in some real experts, not the pansies your agent recommends (most house inspectors are in the business of rubber stamping as the good ones are hated by the agents).

 

[AuAltima3.5]

AuAltima3.5- I dealt with termite damage at my previous shop, and a family home I sold to a buddy had it too. It *CAN* be fixed 100%, but oh man would I want to do everything in an overkill/Autopian manner...and that's from first-hand observation of those two cases. It was a *BIG*, long, expensive job both times, with "after remediation" inspections that went on forever.



I'd follow your inner Autopian. The bank's looking out for their interest, right? I'd sure want to look out for *my own* interest at least as diligently. With the difficulties in doing the inspection, you sure don't want this to come back and bite you down the road.



I wouldn't care one whit about "being fair" to the seller with regard to this issue "keeping him waiting! He's the guy selling a termite-infested house; IMO he's lucky you don't just walk. Sure he wants it sold yesterday, he's trying to pawn the issue off onto you before it bites *his* A$$.



The realtor just wants the commision. The buyer just wants the problem house sold. You should just want what's right for you. CYA and get this done right.

Accumulator, thanks for your input. My realtor, SO, and half of my friends say just buy it, cause so many houses here have termites, but this one is a giving me pause. Just so many opinions, so it's nice to hear someone else lean on my side of things, haha.

Tell your realtor to pound sand. Looks like he/she just wants their commission. The bank is looking out for you, and more importantly their money. DO NOT RUSH INTO THIS. Don't worry about the house selling either, they are going to have to disclose why the last sale fell through, and no one is in a hurry to buy a house with termite damage.



As with any bug, when you see a few, it means there are a TON MORE. I'd do nothing less than bring in some real experts, not the pansies your agent recommends (most house inspectors are in the business of rubber stamping as the good ones are hated by the agents).

I picked the termite inspector, but they are a pretty big company that I think just cares for commission. The first company I wanted to use basically said, "that house is too old and too much of a problem for us to do, we don't do house >10yrs old." This house is 16 years old.



I think I am just going to pass on this one, because the seller doesnt seem like the type to want to tear down a wall.

 

[imported_WCD]

What State are you in? In CA, this has different levels..probably section 1. This is 100% on the seller to repair, or leave $$ in escrow for you to use. The bank is protecting itself, nothing more. If the realtor is totally pushing, ask him/her to cover the cost. It's not uncommon here for a realtor to pay for something to close escrow.



You do not want to get into something over your head in $$$ after you purchase and the bank wants their payments. I suspect most states have laws about this.



Rob

 

[GoodnClean]

I'm in the real estate business myself, and deal with stuff like this all the time.



Its not reasonable to expect the seller to submit to a destructive evaluation of their house. I've never had a lender request such a thing, and I've had some houses with some pretty bad termite damage.



Its not uncommon for the lender to require that the damage be repaired and the home treated prior to settlement. In my area that would be 100% on the seller provided the contract is not AS-IS but that varies depending on the locality. Is it a conventional or FHA loan?



Its something that can be fixed 100%, as another poster said. However, I think the proper course of action would simply be to request that the seller repair the damage prior to settlement rather than to submit to a destructive evaluation. If an invoice showing the damage as repaired by a licensed contractor, and an invoice for a termite treatment from a licensed pest control company showing the home is treated and that the company will back that treatment up with a warranty isn't enough for your lender...I agree with your Agent...time for a new lender.

 

[AuAltima3.5]

I'm in the real estate business myself, and deal with stuff like this all the time.



Its not reasonable to expect the seller to submit to a destructive evaluation of their house. I've never had a lender request such a thing, and I've had some houses with some pretty bad termite damage.



Its not uncommon for the lender to require that the damage be repaired and the home treated prior to settlement. In my area that would be 100% on the seller provided the contract is not AS-IS but that varies depending on the locality. Is it a conventional or FHA loan?



Its something that can be fixed 100%, as another poster said. However, I think the proper course of action would simply be to request that the seller repair the damage prior to settlement rather than to submit to a destructive evaluation. If an invoice showing the damage as repaired by a licensed contractor, and an invoice for a termite treatment from a licensed pest control company showing the home is treated and that the company will back that treatment up with a warranty isn't enough for your lender...I agree with your Agent...time for a new lender.

My contract says they need to repair termite damage, but I am under the impression that meant visible damage. That's something that needs more investigation, but either way: I am feeling this seller won't do much past fixing visible damage.



Tearing a wall down is overkill, but I am sure portion of the drywall must come down anyway to do the fix you suggesting above, no?

 

[Dan]

Think about it this way. Termites and wood rot are what rust is to a car. Sure the car salesman will tell you they all have them. If you find a spot of rust, they will fix that spot...

 

[bigltc]

+1 with Accumulator. There must be more to the original inspection report to indicate a problem if the bank wants additional inspections.

 

[jfelbab]

Tearing out some drywall and replacing it is not a big deal when compared to what might be lurking. I'd want to know the extent of the infestation if it were about to become my home. Termite damage is like an iceberg. You often only see a small part of it.

 

[Accumulator]

I picked the termite inspector, but... The first company I wanted to use basically said, "that house is too old and too much of a problem for us to do....

Not putting much stock in the age of the house, I'd be utterly :soscared: about that "too much of a problem"! I mean...sheesh, this is what their company is about and they're afraid to put their reputation on the line.

I think I am just going to pass on this one..

Good. Stick to that. Don't let others sway you (not intended as a slam at others here, I'm thinking about the "others" involved in the actual situation). On some level you already know that passing is the right thing to do. People talk themselves (or let others talk them) out of listening to that "instinctive inner voice" and IMO that's usually a mistake.



You might not be a termite expert, but you're the one person in this thing that has your best interest as the #1 priority.

Think about it this way. Termites and wood rot are what rust is to a car...

Hey, that's a really good analogy :xyxthumbs

 

[GoodnClean]

My contract says they need to repair termite damage, but I am under the impression that meant visible damage. That's something that needs more investigation, but either way: I am feeling this seller won't do much past fixing visible damage

If the contract says they have to fix the damage, I promise you its not relegated to visible damage. Its all damage, sometimes its specified as only STRUCTURAL damage...but its certainly not only cosmetic damage.



I would stop arguing with the seller and just send them a notice stating that they must repair the termite damage and treat the home for termites as per the terms of the contract.

Tearing a wall down is overkill, but I am sure portion of the drywall must come down anyway to do the fix you suggesting above, no?

Yeah, they would have to do it in order to repair the damage, a trained termite inspector will be able to tell, they can always look into the wall with a boroscope or something after they remove the baseboard. My point was asking them to tear walls down just on a fact finding isn't reasonable.



If your contract says they need to repair damage from wood destroying insects and treat for wood destroying insects the seller doesn't have to agree to anything, he has already agreed when he signed the contract.



I have sold hundreds of homes, and termites CAN be a big deal, but typically they are not and I would say 35-40% of the homes I've sold needed some sort of termite treatment or damage repair. If you're looking at older homes which it sounds like you are, this sort of thing is going to come up again and again. I'm not trying to convince you to buy the house, I'm just saying I personally knowing what I know would not pass on a house just because of some minor to moderate termite damage, especially an older house.



The company that does the repair will know when they remove the baseboard how extensive the damage is, and they will repair it. Unless the lower structure is totally consumed, termites won't continue up the wood beams, they dont live in the wood, they live in the soil and only come into the wood to feed, so they go as far as they need to in order to feed, and go back into the soil.