James asks…
Why are homes built out of wood instead of stone?
Wood gets water damage, termites and doesn’t last long like stone, which also has better insulation, is sturdier and doesn’t fall apart. Considering the hundreds of thousands+ people pay for a cheap house, why don’t they use quality material at least?
admin answers:
Because the quality of the material significantly cost more than word and more difficult to repair in the future and money doesn’t grow on trees.
Susan asks…
i have termite damage in my home, should i foreclose?
value of my home is not even what my loan amount is.
house in cali
admin answers:
If the damage is severe enough, you might be able to file an insurance claim for repairs, depending on the policy.
This will likely have the result of raising your insurance premiums, but would be better than footing it entirely.
Ethically, you should not just walk away from the home. This forces what is really your loss onto the bank. You would also lose ANY equity that you have built up in the house.
In terms of your credit rating, it would absolutely destroy it, and you would be completely unable to get another loan for a home for quite some time. It would also affect your ability to borrow for a car, or anything else you might need.
Many apartment complexes will do credit checks and will also be hesitant to rent to someone with such a history.
You should try to get the damage fixed, if at all possible, and really keep up a regimen of pest control to prevent further damage.
If you cannot afford this outright, talk to your bank. They may be willing to do some sort of financing arrangement to loan you the money needed to do the repairs. This would cost them less than taking a complete loss on the house.
I would advise you to not walk away from this, keep the house, and keep paying on the loan. It sucks, but is probably your best option, if you can afford to keep up the payments.
Eventually the house value WILL rise, IF you repair it, and that will allow you to build up a solid asset.
If you have any further information or details, that would help us get you a better tailored answer. Use the “edit” function to add details, like where the house is, the amounts of the loan, the state of your other finances, etc.
George asks…
should i take down drywall after treating home for termites?
My house is being treated for termites. The infestation is evidently in the front wall and entryway of my home. The termite inspector from orkin advised me that I don’t have to tear out all the drywall, but I am afraid the studs or sill may be damaged. Is there any way to assess damage like that without tearing it all out? 
what’s my next step?
admin answers:
Another way to test the studs is to use a stud finder to locate them and then use an ice pick pushed through the drywall to see if they are still solid. This is what I did at my daughters house when she had a infestation.
With a good stud finder and a little care you can find the two edges of each stud. Probe just inside the edges and in the middle of each stud. The holes left by the ice pick are a lot easier to repair.
You can also remove baseboards, door or window trim and use a 1-1/2″ hole saw to cut larger holes for visual inspection. These can then be covered up with the trim work or baseboard.
As a matter of interest, in my daughter’s house the termites had eaten the window trim in two rooms leavings on the paint. You couldn’t tell it unless you pressed on the paint and then it just fell away. I cut 1-1/2″ holes with my hole saw and found the studs to still intact and solid.
Sandra asks…
Any tips on purchasing a short sale?
We found a house we really like, but it needs serious work – the previous owners were working on the foundation and there is termite damage. The home is up for short sale and if it doesn’t go through they will have to foreclose. What is the best way to make an offer on a short sale? Should we rely on our real estate agent to do all of the work?
Any stories of other people’s experience would be greatly appreciated!
admin answers:
You should rely on you real estate agent to do all the work. Usually in these short sale transactions the agent representing the sellers have to do all the paperwork in regards to why a short sale is being done etc. This could be a long waiting process for you as a buyer there are many things that go on behind closed doors at the bank that holds the liens a lot of follow up has to be done by the sellers agent. They may be backed up or if sellers agent submits incomplete data files go back to the waiting files and delays the process. There is a lot of explaining to do in regards to a short sale I could go on for hours. Usually short sales are in better conditions than bank repos. If this is the case look at some bank . The price on these are set and no need to wait as much as in a short sale. Best way to make in offer is to make sure you don’t lowball it, tell your agent to give you comparable sales to give you and idea of what price homes are selling in the area if all homes in similar characteristics are selling for 300K then an offer for 250K wouldn’t really make sense to the bank.
Joseph asks…
I’m buying a home for the first time and there is termite damage- should I run or let the sellers fix it?
Hey Everyone!
I am buying my first home and there is some termite damage on top of all the other goodies. The termite damge is in the front of the home, in three joists, the subfloor, and floor of the living room. It’s in two of the corners of the living room aside to one another. It doesn’t look bad to the ye, but when you push on the floor in the living room, there is some give. It is not strong in the corners only. The inspector recommended gutting the living room floor in this area alone and the joists and subfloor in an area of approximately 3×8 and that’s being liberal about it. He said the owners probibly had a hard time getting to the problem due to reaching the area through the basement ceiling. we would need to go through the living room floor and get it all out clean. He did say there is NO structural damage there and throughout the rest of the home and this should cure the problem. There are No termites now. We have put in info with our realtor that the sellers need to fix this problem or give $ towards it (an estimate to fix the damages, etc) before we make the final agreement. There is also some electric work that needs to be done to code and a small roof leak. Should we hope for a fix or run away????????? We love this house and have heard conflicting stories. What do we do?????? Please help me!!!! Also, would the termites come back? Should I think there are scary termite problems elsewhere even if my home inspector didn’t find them? He was super detailed too! Thanks so much!!!!!!!!! God bless all of you helping us along the way! I’m nuts and need an open opinion. Thanks again xoxoxoxoxoxoxo Julia M
admin answers:
I don’t know where you live, but, wiith all the inventory at the lowest prices in years why take on this monster? Better you should lose the couple of hundred dollars for the inspection. Also, you can find a well kept home and offer less than the asking in this market. I think you will be sorry if you take on this – it is a big responsibility. Termites can always come back anywhere.
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