The long-term owners of a stately home in Oakland, Calif.,
recently decided to sell. Their agent recommended ordering a pre-sale wood
destroying pest inspection, commonly known as a termite inspection. The sellers
agreed, confident that there would be no major problems. They had a termite
inspection done about 10 years ago and that report indicated no adverse
conditions.
The sellers were understandably alarmed when they received
the current inspection report that called for repairs totaling in excess of
$50,000. How could this much damage occur in such a relatively short period of
time?
Unfortunately, not all wood destroying pest inspections are
the same. Many homeowners hire pest companies to routinely inspect and treat
their homes, some on a regular basis. These are often cursory inspections that
don't necessarily uncover underlying structural problems.
In the example above, the pre-sale inspection was comprehensive
and was completed by a structural pest control operator. The house in question
had a stucco exterior. The inspector did test openings through the stucco
exterior in order to determine if there was any wood pest damage, possibly
caused by water intrusion.
The test openings revealed that there was dry rot damage to
the wood framing behind the stucco that would cost approximately $30,000 to
repair. This damage could have occurred decades ago. Since tests openings
hadn't been performed previously, it's hard to know when the damage occurred.
HOUSE SELLER TIP: To avoid the above scenario, don't wait
until you put your home on the market to order a pest report. If you do, you
might discover that you have a major problem that can eat away at your equity.
The time to start thinking about ordering a termite inspection is soon after
you take over ownership of the property.
Most homeowners are under the impression that the only time
you have a termite inspection done is if you're buying or selling a home. Actually,
as a homeowner, you have two options. You can either wait until you sell and
possibly discover bad news. Or, you can have your home inspected by a
structural pest control operator periodically so that there won't be any
surprises when you do decide to sell.
This is not to say that you need to have your home inspected
annually, although there are some situations, where this would be advisable.
Different areas are subject to different sorts of wood pest problems. The San
Francisco Bay area has environmental conditions that are conducive to
subterranean termite infestation. Farther north, you might find that carpenter
ants are a menace. And in dryer climates, dry wood termites may be a concern.
Usually a wood pest inspection is ordered, either by the
seller or by the buyer, when a home is sold. It's a good idea to talk directly
to the inspector who examined your new home to find out what conditions might
have led to any current pest-related problems. It's important to not only fix
the damage done by wood pests, but correct the conditions that led to the
infestation.
Find out what wood pest problems are common in your area,
and what you can do to prevent such problems in your home. In the above
example, the cause of the dry rot behind the stucco exterior was probably
leakage from a failing roof. The sellers replaced the roof years ago. But, the
damage could have easily been missed unless the sellers had hired a termite
inspector to do an extensive inspection at the time the roof was replaced.
THE CLOSING: In addition to being aware of what to look for,
it's a good idea to have your home re-inspected every several years.
Dian Hymer is author of "House Hunting, The
Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers" and "Starting Out, The Complete
Home Buyer's Guide," Chronicle Books.
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