The saga continues........

[2kids10horses]

SS,

I buy foreclosures, and they are ALL sold As-Is. I expect problems, so I offer low, all cash. Sometimes I get them, sometimes not.

[happyscooter]

I know mom had termite inspections and treatments. We did not find any paperwork relating to that in her files. (She kept paperwork from medical visits and heat-A/C repairs. If she had gotten treatment (done here in the early spring), that would have been before her diagnosis and we wouldn't have known about it. She didn't sit around and say 'my W/D quit working and I had to pay a repairman $79.63 to fix it.' Or 'it costs $24.97 to get my oil changed in my car.' So if the year was up for the termite treatment, we aren't going to spend a minimum of $1000 for treatment.

Again, as far as the 'water test', not sure if it is quality or flow. Pipes are not metal, they are PVC pipe. So I wouldn't think they are worried about rust.

[2kids10horses]

Scooter, the water line coming in to the house from the source (well or city) are not PVC. Especially since this is an older house.

If you can't DOCUMENT the terminite treatment and maintenance agreement, it doesn't exist.

You see, Scooter, this is Real Estate. And everything dealing with Real Estate has to be in writing.

You might call up the local termite companies and see if they're the ones that did the treatment. You might get lucky. Otherwise, you WILL have to pay for a retreatment.

[Deleted]

May 16, 2011 18:29:33 GMT -5 2kids10horses said:

Scooter, the water line coming in to the house from the source (well or city) are not PVC. Especially since this is an older house.

If you can't DOCUMENT the terminite treatment and maintenance agreement, it doesn't exist.

You see, Scooter, this is Real Estate. And everything dealing with Real Estate has to be in writing.

You might call up the local termite companies and see if they're the ones that did the treatment. You might get lucky. Otherwise, you WILL have to pay for a retreatment.

Here in Maryland, the buyer is responsible for getting the inspection and the seller is responsible for treatment.

[happyscooter]

2kids, right, I am not saying that she had treatment. What I am saying is if she did, a year has passed and we aren't starting all over. Treatment for a new customer would be $1000 here. She had the water lines changed about 5 years ago to PVC. But I agree, not from the well. But under the house, yes they are PVC. It is an older house, but my parents did keep it up. New storm windows, new roof (not sure of the year), new cabinets in the kitchen and new vinyl flooring. She had the money and she didn't live like she was in poverty.

Just couldn't part with the 70s paneling or shag carpet. GROOVY!

[2kids10horses]

Ah Ha! There's a well! Of COURSE it has to be inspected! For bacteria. If there is bacteria, it's easy to treat with clorox. Find instructions on-line. Is it a bored (dug) well, or a drilled well? Bored wells are about 2 feet wide. Drilled wells are about 6 inches wide. Bored wells are shallow, and unless you treat them often with clorox they WILL fail the inspection. Not that they're necessarily unsafe, but the bacteria count will likely exceed standards.

Termites: Yes, it costs about $1000 to treat termites here, too. Sentricon is a baiting system and costs less to install. But, there's an on-going cost for the quarterly inspctions. But, you don't care about that, so get the Sentricon. They install little stations all around the house. If the house already has them, call all the local companies until you find who did it, and get them to give you a "termite letter".

If you can't find out who did the termite treatment, you're just gonna have to pay to have it re-treated. It's too bad that it doesn't really need it, but it can't be sold unless you can find the documentation.

A cash buyer, paying all cash, AS-IS, will assume that they will have to pay for the treatment, and so will deduct that amount from the offer they give you. Do not think that you will not have to pay for the termite treatment. You will. You will either have to buy it to sell it, or accept a lower price because you cannot prove it's been treated.

[Deleted]

Re:Termite issue

Have you had the inspection and know the house needs to be treated for termites? Your post isn't clear.

Typically all banks (and most buyers) require a termite inspection which costs about $75. Besides termites the inspections also pick up other pests and things like dry rot. There are 2 parts to the inspection report; section A which work that is required and section B is recommended. You should read the report carefully. Some stuff you can do yourself, such as sweeping dirt away from a porch post.

If "treatment" means tenting the house, then yes it could cost $1000 or more depending on the size of the house.

With respect to wells, I know where we lived in AZ naturally occurring arsenic would show up in some wells. So besides bacteria they are also looking for other things. The arsenic wasn't a lot but Fed regulations changed within the last five years. Some folks had to stop using their wells for drinking water and could only use it for irrigation. Fortunately for us we were on town water. The town's solution was to mix the well water with water from the Central Arizona Project (Canal water from the Colorado). This practice led to the quip "The solution to pollution is dilution".

I know I sound like a broken record but HS's real estate soap opera is why I tell folks to spend the money get the inspections done BEFORE you put property on the market. What a nightmare. I sold my late mother's rental property VA 2 years ago and the sale doesn't have to be this complicated or difficult.

[Deleted]

May 17, 2011 9:44:36 GMT -5 @bonnap said:

Re:Termite issue

Have you had the inspection and know the house needs to be treated for termites? Your post isn't clear.

Typically all banks (and most buyers) require a termite inspection which costs about $75. Besides termites the inspections also pick up other pests and things like dry rot. There are 2 parts to the inspection report; section A which work that is required and section B is recommended. You should read the report carefully. Some stuff you can do yourself, such as sweeping dirt away from a porch post.

If "treatment" means tenting the house, then yes it could cost $1000 or more depending on the size of the house.

With respect to wells, I know where we lived in AZ naturally occurring arsenic would show up in some wells. So besides bacteria they are also looking for other things. The arsenic wasn't a lot but Fed regulations changed within the last five years. Some folks had to stop using their wells for drinking water and could only use it for irrigation. Fortunately for us we were on town water. The town's solution was to mix the well water with water from the Central Arizona Project (Canal water from the Colorado). This practice led to the quip "The solution to pollution is dilution".

I know I sound like a broken record but HS's real estate soap opera is why I tell folks to spend the money get the inspections done BEFORE you put property on the market. What a nightmare. I sold my late mother's rental property VA 2 years ago and the sale doesn't have to be this complicated or difficult.

and all of this stuff should have been indicated by the buyer at the time of the purchase agreement. I just completed a purchase agreement and I had to indicate which inspections I was going to be performing, at my expense.

[Deleted]

"all of this stuff should have been indicated by the buyer at the time of the purchase agreement."

It probably was. I think they are just now getting the results.

My point is that if you do the inspections up front you know what you're in for. Most older houses have some issues especially if the prior owner was a "Handy Homer" who may have made some "improvements" which were not up to code. When (not if) you find these items you fix the dangerous/serious issues and disclose what you're not fixing. If the purchaser wants to pay for their own inspections they can but you're not likely to have the surprises or drama that the O.P. is experiencing.

[Deleted]

May 17, 2011 10:54:02 GMT -5 @bonnap said:

"all of this stuff should have been indicated by the buyer at the time of the purchase agreement."

It probably was. I think they are just now getting the results.

My point is that if you do the inspections up front you know what you're in for. Most older houses have some issues especially if the prior owner was a "Handy Homer" who may have made some "improvements" which were not up to code. When (not if) you find these items you fix the dangerous/serious issues and disclose what you're not fixing. If the purchaser wants to pay for their own inspections they can but you're not likely to have the surprises or drama that the O.P. is experiencing.

they're beyond the original closing date. The timeframe for getting the results and acting on them should have long passed. my contract states x days to get inspection completed - that means inspection done, repairs asked for and either rejected or agreed to. This sounds like they all of a sudden up and asked for something new. I would just say no and declare the contract null and void.

[2kids10horses]

I buy foreclosures, fix them up and resell them. I have thought about getting a home inspector to go thru and give me a list of all the things he would like done so that I could do them before I list it.

But, the buyer is going to want to do that. So, when I get all the stuff done that I think needs to be done, before I list it, I send my handyman around and see if there is anything glaring wrong. If there is, I fix it. But I don't hire an inspector.

Now, I've just sold a house, and the buyer had their inspector go around and give a report. Found some things. (They lifted all the basement ceiling tiles, and found where the previous homeowner ran some wires, and didn't use a box. I didn't think to check for that!) So, I got a list. Did them! The new buyer is happy I did all the things on her list.

No fuss, no arguing.

[Deleted]

Bonnap, I don't know where you live, but I live in the South where termites are a major problem.

To sell a house with financing such as conventional, you must provide proof of a "termite bond." It is proof of original treatment and annual inspections thereafter. if you skip an inspection, the bond has lapsed. The original company might be willing to still provide one at the inspection price. I honestly have no idea. I only know that every house I bought and sold had to have proof of a termite bond at closing.

As part of closing in Alabama, you provide an inspection report from the company providing the termite bond. It reveals if there has ever been an active infestation and if damage was caused. The last house I sold did have an infestation that did no damage, and that was revealed.

My son let his termite bond lapse (not a good idea but they aren't good at homeowning). When he wanted to refinance, they had to spend a $1000 to get a new termite bond. I don't know what his annual fee is for annual inspection and/or retreatment. Mine is $125.

Scooter, this isn't a small problem in the South. You need to ask your realtor if you can sell without providing proof of a current termite bond. It may be a moot issue if you must provide one.

By the way, a bond does not cover repairs, etc. It is simply treatment and then annual inspections and retreatments as needed.

[Deleted]

"To sell a house with financing such as conventional, you must provide proof of a "termite bond." It is proof of original treatment and annual inspections thereafter. if you skip an inspection, the bond has lapsed."

This is interesting. My experience is in CA and AZ (30 years). We also have plenty of termite problems (both flying and subterranean) as well as (ironically) dry rot. We only need to provide a Termite Clearance which, if you're lucky, can be provided by the $75 inspection.