Termites found during inspection

Buying & Selling Real Estate
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Termites found during inspection

Jan Whitney
Real Estate Agent · Church Hill, MD · Member since 2013 · 14 posts · 3 votes

Hi everybody. I haven't had a chance to formally introduce myself yet (I've been lurking and studying and trying to learn all I can from the wealth of experience I've found on this site) but I've got a problem I'm hoping someone can help me with.

I have two duplex houses under contract from the same seller that I'm planning to hold - they are fully occupied and will generate good cash flow. Today was the termite inspection and both houses have some infestation - one has evidence of old and one has evidence of active. There is some damage to the floor joists on the one property with the old infestation and we can't tell on the other if there is any damage in the crawl space. We don't see any obvious evidence inside the houses.

The seller is going to take care of the treatments for both properties and repair the joist that can be seen. My question is, how do I know if there is more extensive damage - do I have a contractor come in - how does he inspect without damaging ? The home inspector was there today too but he didn't say anything about it and I don't have his report yet (is that something he should be looking at?)

This is my first investor deal and I'm a little freaked about already spending $1,500 plus for the inspections water, home, termite and surveys. The bank hasn't sent the appraiser yet - maybe I can stop them if I shouldn't be going further with the deal, if that is even what I should do.

I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Jan

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  • Steve Babiak
    Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    13y

    Do you actually TRUST the seller to make proper repairs, or would you expect the seller to take whatever short-cuts that they can?

    Many home inspectors aren't certified in pest inspection, so they sometimes can't give you extensive details; you might have to call in a contractor who specializes in treating for wood-destroying insects.

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  • Kyle J.
    Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    Termites don't have to be a deal breaker. I've dealt with several houses that have had them. Do you know what kind of termites you have (i.e. dry wood, subterranean, etc)?

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  • Jan Whitney
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Church Hill, MD · Member since 2013 · 14 posts · 3 votes
    13y

    I think subterranean - they were treating by putting some chemical into the ground around the houses. We're on Maryland's eastern shore. How would you find a contractor with termite experience? Ask the termite inspecting company maybe?

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  • Mike G.
    Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    13y

    Almost every house we look at here in the Los Angeles area has some active or old termite damage. Definitely not a deal breaker. If you are concerned about the thoroughness of the termite inspections paid for by the sellers, you can consider asking if you can have your own inspections done. They shouldn't cost too much and that way you'd have a second opinion. I would think that the original termite inspectors, though, would have been incentivized to find as much as they could, because they were likely to get hired to do the work.

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  • Kyle J.
    Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Jan Whitney:
    I think subterranean - they were treating by putting some chemical into the ground around the houses. We're on Maryland's eastern shore. How would you find a contractor with termite experience? Ask the termite inspecting company maybe?

    Subterranean termites are one of the easier types to treat. You just need to make sure they treat all the way around the house and remediate any attractants for the termites (i.e. any wood touching the dirt is bad).

    You could always have another termite company come in and do an inspection after the sellers do their treatment to make sure it was done properly and there's no additional evidence of termite activity. (The termite companies I've dealt with always do the inspection for free, so this shouldn't cost you anything.)

    Keep in mind that some evidence of termite activity may not be easily detectable. For instance, a termite inspection company isn't going to cut open walls to inspect inside them. For that matter, neither would a contractor since you don't own the house yet. The seller just isn't going to allow that intrusive of an inspection.

    The best you can do is check all the visible areas possible for any evidence of them that may still be present (i.e. mud tubes, etc).

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  • Mike G.
    Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    13y

    With subterranean termites, often they go into the house because of a water leak, so make sure you check for any leaks around the areas where the termites were found.

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  • Marjorie Binder
    Baltimore, MD · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 1 vote
    13y

    as an assessor i just so happened to be in a house today that might need to be razed because the past damage was so bad....and that was from 1973. My advice seeing what she's going through is to get a structural engineer. Do NOT trust the seller, do not even trust the termite company. Get a lawyer to know how much they are liable if they did not uncover or reveal the full extent of the damage. In the case i saw today the investigation would've necessitated going into the crawl space...and i mean literally crawl space, perhaps a distance of 50 feet to see the full extent of the damage.

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  • Ryan M.
    West, MI · Member since 2012 · 674 posts · 182 votes
    13y

    I had a property where I wrote cash, no contingencies, no inspections the same day/time as the walk through, closing in 7 days.

    The property had termite damage that I discovered. The offer reflected the damage. Contacted the owner directly told him about the termites and he took the offer because he knew it would jam up other, higher offers.

    Termites aren't always a bad thing, unless you own the building :)

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  • Sophie Harper
    Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    8mo

    my termite company is certified termite inspector in los angeles. they will take care of all the things.

    0Reply
  • Jules Aton
    MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8mo

    Termites aren’t unusual on the eastern shore. I’m surprised you haven’t encountered them before but I bet your broker can assist with recs. 

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