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[Indadhanu]

Termites.

Yes, termites!

Situation: Home had established upstairs area and one big open downstairs area that, closed in but basically one big room. Decided to close in downstairs. Used pine. Idiots. Termites ate pine. Termites ate some other soft wood, including skirting around floorboards upstairs, which may mean ripping the walls apart and redoing them too if they have termite damage. Doesn't appear to be structural damage.
Owner is asking 60% more than the land value. We will offer about 30-40% more than land value.
Side issues: both sets of external stairs and landings have weather damage and one is unuseable. Some floorboards will need replacing in the near future BUT this isn't due to termites but just normal aging (we'd probably just rip up the carpet as it hasn't been professionally laid, just placed one the floor, do the floorboards all straight out, which means replacing the skirting boards anyway, and having polished floorboards over carpet). Wall around the bottom level of the home will need repairing from storm damage. Plumbing will probably need to be looked at eventually, some evidence of leakage. Needs fence on two sides.
And long long term - add internal staircase, make a downstairs living area, have to add double garage as this one has been closed off.

Now.
I'm not interested in buying a home that has structural damage.
So lets assume there's no structural damage.

I'm no entirely sure about how I feel about it all. Part of me wants to run screaming. Part of me thinks renovating/partial rebuilding from the foundations is the next best thing to buying land and building, and the space is amazing, so much potential, which makes me feel excited about what we can do to it. And the land and position makes the whole package somewhat of a bargin - without the damage the house and land would be worth double what they're asking.

Anyway, back to termites.

To people who have bought/sold/renovated/dealt with termites. What would be your first thought? (Remembering that we are excited to renovate, and have been hoping for a home with room to personalise.) The one thing that worries me is getting in over our head RE: the cost of repairing and renovating. The bankwants to give us a lot less than we can afford, and even when they factor in insurance/rates etc, we still come out with $500 in our pocket after bills, mortgage, food, fuel and putting away for larger bills etc). But I'm worried about spending it all on renovations. We are willing to put in hard work and all that, but theres some things we CAN'T do that we'd have to pay for.

I dunno... BIL is going to go through it with a fine tooth comb on Thursday. He isn't a builder by trade, but did renovate his whole house, rebuilt walls, flooring etc, sourced his own materials, so will give us an idea of how much everything will cost to repair/replace, and how much will need to be done by a professional.

Anyway... give me some thoughts, some ideas, something... positive or negative... What to really really look for, what to do, what to say, what to think ().
Would it be reasonable to request a building and pest report BEFORE making an offer? Obviously one has been done, can we request this? I don't want to put an offer on a house, put down a deposit, have a contract drawn up pending pest and building report, and find that the hosue is about to fall down around our ears. Do we have a right to ask for their report? Or am I out of line on that one?

[Ozziehoffy]

When you put the offer in... you make sure it states "subject to pest and building inspection" and.... you can add other clauses also if you want. Just bear in mind the more obstructions you put in place the bigger possibility of the owner just saying no to the offer. So, anyway, bottom line... you have a safety net in the "subject to pest and building inspection" clause. I think it's standard. I remember with this place the guy we got to do it had infared thing which shows if there is activity behind the walls or not ... so when you call around to get someone to do it, just ask if they do that. We have found some termites AROUND outside, just some yesterday in fact, so we need to get them back in to do a check of the house again.

Hope that helps you a bit hun... so don't stress, you're not bound 100% by putting in an offer

[Jakabella]

I would definatly get a building inspection done - no matter what house you look at. I know way to many people that have not and have paid dearly.

Renovating is ok - we bought and old house and we have done a bit - but its not as easy and dreamy as we first though. Its fun for a while but if there is to much it takes its toll on you in many ways.

If the structure is sound then thats a good starting point.
Good luck!

[misty]

My advice: DO NOT TOUCH WITH A TEN FOOT POLE.

The problem with termite damage is that if you can see any damage, there it is mostly likely only 5-10% of the actual damage. Unless they have competely stripped back ALL the plaster board and floorboards and carpets and tiles, etc to check under each and every surface, then chances are that there has been further damage which has gone unnoticed and thus unfixed. Worst case senario, you may be doing a complete strip out of the entire house and then rebuilding.

Building and pest inspections are all good and fine, but talk to your pest guy before you even consider putting an offer in. Often they will simply put in a general, "there is evidence of previous temite activity" to cover themselves regardless - but unless they have striped back everysurface they are not going to be able to 1) see if there is any 'current' activity or b) if there is and unseen structural damage which has been caused by the termites.

If I were looking at a place with termite damage (unless is was extremely old damage) I would not be willing to settle for any more then land value. It can be a bit like buying a 'burnt out house' only you cann't nessecarily 'see' the damage.

If the person is discounting their property by so much, then that rings alarm bells in my mind. It means to me that they have likely already looked into the costs to 'fix' this problem and have found it better to take a loss on their property instead. Such a substantial loss suggests at least an equally substantial cost to fix, if not more.

[melbel]

My advice: DO NOT TOUCH WITH A TEN FOOT POLE.

The problem with termite damage is that if you can see any damage, there it is mostly likely only 5-10% of the actual damage. Unless they have competely stripped back ALL the plaster board and floorboards and carpets and tiles, etc to check under each and every surface, then chances are that there has been further damage which has gone unnoticed and thus unfixed. Worst case senario, you may be doing a complete strip out of the entire house and then rebuilding.

Building and pest inspections are all good and fine, but talk to your pest guy before you even consider putting an offer in. Often they will simply put in a general, "there is evidence of previous temite activity" to cover themselves regardless - but unless they have striped back everysurface they are not going to be able to 1) see if there is any 'current' activity or b) if there is and unseen structural damage which has been caused by the termites.

If I were looking at a place with termite damage (unless is was extremely old damage) I would not be willing to settle for any more then land value. It can be a bit like buying a 'burnt out house' only you cann't nessecarily 'see' the damage.

If the person is discounting their property by so much, then that rings alarm bells in my mind. It means to me that they have likely already looked into the costs to 'fix' this problem and have found it better to take a loss on their property instead. Such a substantial loss suggests at least an equally substantial cost to fix, if not more.

It's like an iceberg, only the top 5-10% is visible...the termites have come on from the ground so have had to eat ther way into the house to get to the softwood to start with.......there will guaranteed be sp much more work to do than you think, just not worth it and the stress of it all as well....renovating is one thing but more than likely a house like this would need major work before you could even move in....

[Indadhanu]

Probably why its so cheap I guess? Wish I could get some magical termite goggles and see everything!