Michael asks…
Do I need to retreat my property for termites?
We recently bought a house that had a small nest of termites almost 5 years ago. The termites were removed, the minor damage repaired and a termite barrier installed. Annual inspections were carried out as well as a pre purchase pest inspection and no further activity has ever been detected.
The termite barrier is effective for 5 years and is about to expire, do we need to invest in another barrier or has the problem been resolved?
admin answers:
What product was used for the treatment…how much are they wanting to “retreat”… If the ‘invest” cost means paying for a termite treatment, why not wait until termites are discovered… I’d say no, have the home inspected every year or so, but why spend the money if it isn’t needed. Any termites that might show up down the road will not do any significant damage before being discovered by an inspection.
Donna asks…
Jacking up and leveling a floor?
I’m starting to repair an old house in rough condition. The foundation is based on brick piers. Towards the front of the house, one of the peirs has fallen over and the others have settled (due to water flow that also must be corrected). This floor obviously is unlevel. Additionally, in this same area, a couple of the floor beams have suffered termite damage and need to be repaired.
I’ve researched several ways to level the floor but can’t decide which is the best in this situation. Hiring a professional would be optimal, but is probably more than I can afford.
Ideas? Detailed step by step process maybe?
admin answers:
At least 2 bottle jacks a 4×4 post and a couple of peices of 2×4 to put between the jacks and the 4×4′s this isnt really a job for someone that has no skills but you may be able with trial and error do it just dont be alone in case something happens you’ll need someone to call 911.
Mary asks…
What do they mean by giving credits when buying a home?
I’m in the process of buying a house and we agreed between counters that they would pay for section one termites and some other misc items, but the repairs would not exceed $8000 and be finished prior to close of escrow. They put this house up on the market in Sept and these reports are from then. So, we agreed that we would get our own inspections and they would repair per their findings. They agreed. We got the inspections done and the roof hasn’t been replaced or repaired in over 20 years and termite damage was more excessive than their original inspection. We asked them to credit us for some of the roof repairs as well. They are now saying they will credit us for all repairs in the amount of $11000 and we buy the house as is. Does that mean it comes off the top dollar of the house? Why are they willing to credit rather than have the repairs done? I’m afraid I’m buying a money pit and don’t know it yet.
admin answers:
You could be. They are saying that they will pay only up to $11,000, no matter how much it costs. At closing they would have $11,000 placed into an escrow account. You could draw from that account with paid bills and I am sure that they would also place a time limitation on it too. The price of the house doesn’t change. If the repairs don’t cost the full $11,000 the seller will get whatever remains.
If the are that eager to pony up the $11,000 they might know of other things wrong. I would be very careful.
Lizzie asks…
what to do if you find out you’ve bought a lemon for a house?
just bought a house that had termite damage, that was treated and repaired but after we moved in we found more, there are also problems with drainage outside, everything is old, the house is only 17 years old but nothing has been replaced in that whole time. including roof which has a life expectancy of up to 2 years. its in florida.
we did get an inspection plus a WDO. i think our mistake was that we trusted the inspector when he said it was a good house despite the damage. we did the owner to fix the damage that was found but the damage wasn’t discovered where i found it the other day. we should have figured there would be more damage in a house that has never been treated for termites in its 17 year history in an area known for termites.
admin answers:
Sorry to hear it. As you know now, you should have had a house inspector before you bought it. If there was any fraud, then you could get a lawyer and try to recoup some of the cost to repair it. Other than that, just start fixing it up. Good luck.
Helen asks…
Home Improvments, which order should we do these?
We need to tent the house for termites, and do damage repairs. We also need a new roof, new rain gutters, and exterior paint. Which do we do first, and then next after that?
admin answers:
Tent the house first. The longer you wait, the more you have to repair. The damage repairs can occur at the same time as the new roof is going on, unless some of the damage is in the roof structure, in which case you’ll want those taken care of first.
The exterior paint job goes next. Doing the painting before you install gutters means that much less that you’ll have to cut around. It will also get a good coat of paint on behind the gutters.
That’s my take on your honey do list.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
