I am currently under contract to purchase a home in Chandler, Arizona.
According to my agent, the just released termite report shows that
there is some termite activity. I'll get a copy soon and also the
agent suggested I talk to the inspector to determine the extent of the
termite issue.

At this time I do not know the extent of the activity and if there is
any damage to speak of but this situations is of course somewhat
"disturbing".

My main areas of concern a
1. The extent of the termite activity and any damage
2. The effect this will have on resale value (if the problem is
treated but this fact were disclosed to future buyers as would be
required)

The contract stipulates that the seller must pay for the treatment.
But I also wonder if I should ask for a reduced price for the possible
value lowering effect due to this factor.

I am a first time buyer and not all that knowledgeable about the
extent of termite problems in Chandler. I'd prefer if termites
activity wasn't found but then again this could be quite common and
inevitable in Chandler.

I feel a bit uneasy about buying a property that isn't termite free
but on the other hand it might be common enough that a record of
termites isn't going to be that big of a deal down the line when it
comes time to sell.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to what I should do or
how much of an issue this is?

Thanks for any help!

In article , (Email Invalid) wrote:
I am currently under contract to purchase a home in Chandler, Arizona.
According to my agent, the just released termite report shows that
there is some termite activity. I'll get a copy soon and also the
agent suggested I talk to the inspector to determine the extent of the
termite issue.

At this time I do not know the extent of the activity and if there is
any damage to speak of but this situations is of course somewhat
"disturbing".

My main areas of concern a
1. The extent of the termite activity and any damage
2. The effect this will have on resale value (if the problem is
treated but this fact were disclosed to future buyers as would be
required)

The contract stipulates that the seller must pay for the treatment.
But I also wonder if I should ask for a reduced price for the possible
value lowering effect due to this factor.

That depends on the extent of the damage, and how willing you are to walk away
from the deal. If the damage is minor, and completely repaired, I suspect that
the seller will have little interest in lowering the price.

I am a first time buyer and not all that knowledgeable about the
extent of termite problems in Chandler. I'd prefer if termites
activity wasn't found but then again this could be quite common and
inevitable in Chandler.

I feel a bit uneasy about buying a property that isn't termite free
but on the other hand it might be common enough that a record of
termites isn't going to be that big of a deal down the line when it
comes time to sell.

If the damage was minimal, or is completely repaired, and the infestation has
been eliminated, you probably won't see much impact on resale value at all.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to what I should do or
how much of an issue this is?

Once you find out the extent of the damage, you have a decision to make. Real
estate purchase contracts normally allow the buyer to withdraw without penalty
if inspection discloses a major defect, and extensive termite damage certainly
falls into this category. If the damage is extensive, you may want to simply
walk away from the deal -- *after* consulting with your attorney. Extensive
damage means expensive repair; you can always attempt to negotiate with the
seller, either for the seller to pay for the repair, or to reduce the selling
price correspondingly, but be prepared for those negotiations to go nowhere.

Email Invalid said on 3/19/2004 10:49 PM:

I am currently under contract to purchase a home in Chandler, Arizona.
According to my agent, the just released termite report shows that
there is some termite activity. I'll get a copy soon and also the
agent suggested I talk to the inspector to determine the extent of the
termite issue.

At this time I do not know the extent of the activity and if there is
any damage to speak of but this situations is of course somewhat
"disturbing".

My main areas of concern a
1. The extent of the termite activity and any damage
2. The effect this will have on resale value (if the problem is
treated but this fact were disclosed to future buyers as would be
required)

The contract stipulates that the seller must pay for the treatment.
But I also wonder if I should ask for a reduced price for the possible
value lowering effect due to this factor.

I am a first time buyer and not all that knowledgeable about the
extent of termite problems in Chandler. I'd prefer if termites
activity wasn't found but then again this could be quite common and
inevitable in Chandler.

I feel a bit uneasy about buying a property that isn't termite free
but on the other hand it might be common enough that a record of
termites isn't going to be that big of a deal down the line when it
comes time to sell.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions as to what I should do or
how much of an issue this is?

Thanks for any help!


=========
Not sure about Arizona real estate law but the revelation of termites
CAN be grounds to void the contract. Usually the seller has a termite
inspection before going on the market. If they sold you the home WITHOUT
revealing the termites you can probably void the contract.

az-willie wrote in message news:iD_6c.16$lf.13@okepread05...

=========
Not sure about Arizona real estate law but the revelation of termites
CAN be grounds to void the contract. Usually the seller has a termite
inspection before going on the market. If they sold you the home WITHOUT
revealing the termites you can probably void the contract.

According to my real estate agent and my understanding of the
contract, I would be within my rights to withdraw from the contract
and obtain my earnest money back. The loss from doing so would be time
and the cost of the home inspections ($290 total for separate home and
termite inspections).

The question, though, is should I start looking for a another home or
should I still buy the home but have the seller pay for full treatment
(which actually he is required to do as the contract stipulates). If
there is any "advantage" to speak of, it is that if I choose to go
forward I can get termite treatment for free.

There is of course better peace of mind in buying a home where the
report shows no current termite activity. OTOH, I could easily buy a
home where the termite inspection is clean and termites could still
show up later on anyway and then I'd be the one to have to pay for it.

If the current termite activity and more importantly damage is minimal
and if this problem is somewhat inevitable, then there really is not
much reason not to move forward, I guess???

Email Invalid said on 3/20/2004 3:51 PM:

az-willie wrote in message news:iD_6c.16$lf.13@okepread05...



=========
Not sure about Arizona real estate law but the revelation of termites
CAN be grounds to void the contract. Usually the seller has a termite
inspection before going on the market. If they sold you the home WITHOUT
revealing the termites you can probably void the contract.



According to my real estate agent and my understanding of the
contract, I would be within my rights to withdraw from the contract
and obtain my earnest money back. The loss from doing so would be time
and the cost of the home inspections ($290 total for separate home and
termite inspections).

The question, though, is should I start looking for a another home or
should I still buy the home but have the seller pay for full treatment
(which actually he is required to do as the contract stipulates). If
there is any "advantage" to speak of, it is that if I choose to go
forward I can get termite treatment for free.

There is of course better peace of mind in buying a home where the
report shows no current termite activity. OTOH, I could easily buy a
home where the termite inspection is clean and termites could still
show up later on anyway and then I'd be the one to have to pay for it.

If the current termite activity and more importantly damage is minimal
and if this problem is somewhat inevitable, then there really is not
much reason not to move forward, I guess???


=======================

Probably the biggest question is how much damage there is and the extent
of the termite infestation.

If infestation is minimal and no known damage and the owner will pay
for full termite treatment it isn't necessarily a deal breaker.

I would try to get the owner to pay for the Terminix program or one
similar to it where stations are installed around the perimeter of the
house.

As far as I know, Terminix is the only one that guarantees to pay for
the damage. All other termite programs only retreat if termites are
found, they don't pay for the damage when their program fails.

Scott in Aztlán said on 3/21/2004 9:05 AM:

On 20 Mar 2004 14:51:23 -0800, (Email Invalid)
wrote:



There is of course better peace of mind in buying a home where the
report shows no current termite activity. OTOH, I could easily buy a
home where the termite inspection is clean and termites could still
show up later on anyway



Yup. A great deal depends on how good the inspection/inspector is.

When I bought my current house (in SoCal), the sellers had a termite inspection
done. The inspection revealed some evidence of infestation, and recommended spot
treatment and some repairs. The sellers, being *incredibly* cheap, decided the
cost was too much, so they went and got a second opinion. This second inspection
revealed more extensive infestation, and they recommended fumigating the entire
structure. Instead of lowering their costs, these idiots ended up having to pay
SIX TIMES MORE than the original estimate.

BWAAAAAAHAAAAHAAAAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

I'm still laughing about that one.

Anyway, the bottom line is, the first inspector clearly missed some things that
the second inspector found. Thus, who you select to do your termite inspection
can make a big difference.



=============
Termites are a plague in Arizona. Homes built in former orchards or on
former farm land don't have much problem because so much insecticide was
applied to the land over the years.

But homes built on former desert ground ( like many in the East and West
valley areas of Phoenix ) have big time problems with termites.