Hi All

I know a few of you here have bought houses in the past while, so i just thought i'd ask a few questions.

I signed a contract on a house 10 days ago and subsequently got a building and pest inspection done. Turns out the house is OK, no troubles, but the fence is full of termites and shot to s***.

My question is, it's gonna cost like $2K for a full on termite treatment and $2-3K to replace the fence. I don't wanna fork out that money, but i still want the house. Can i then go back to the real estate agent, say 'this pest inspection sucks, gimme the house at $5K or so cheaper?'

Provided the contract states it's subject to the results of a pest & building inspection there's no reason you can't.

I think the standard/default terms in a housing contract refer to just the house so you might not be able to get out of it because the fence has the problems and if they aren't attached then it might not be covered.

Should ask a conveyencor for a definite answer though.

Caveat Emptor :)

Unfortunately unless received a statement from the Agent refuting the existence of termites in the house and yard, you are out on your own. Should have done this prior to the sale.

Also, a provision in the contract itself relating to the existence of termites will give you some options.


Caveat Emptor = Buyer Beware.

last edited by fade at 13:06:10 21/Nov/07

why don't you gas the termites out



WITH LPG HAHAHHAAH

I thought any business that claims 'buyer beware' is breaking the law.

last edited by Idol at 14:07:53 21/Nov/07

Business yes,

But Property sale, no.

Yes, the contract is subject to my satisfaction of the building and pest inspection.
I think the standard terms cover the 'property' not just the house. This includes all the crap like the garage, shed, plumbing, whatever else isnt actually in the house.
Yeah, im leaning that way, to talk to the conveyencor. Would they charge me for asking questions?

I don't wanna tell them to stick it, but i don't wanna buy the house for the price offered either, in light of the defects.

ps paveway, you had me laughing. funny story, my brother once killed a nest of green ants with a barbecue LPG bottle, shoot some on, light it up!

Sounds like you have grounds.

Talk to a conveyancer. So what if it costs you a hundred or two. Nothing compared to the cost of rebuilding the fence

You have to use a conveyencor anyways right? I'm sure if you had a good one they wouldn't charge you extra compared to their standard fees.

I asked our cenveyencor heaps of annoying questions and they had no problem with it.

yeah i think that's right.
in the event of the vendor agreeing to adjusting the price, does that happen in the form of a new contract being drawn up or a cash ajustment?

also,

i have had the contract forwarded to the conveyancor but i havent actually engaged them to do any work yet, as i was thinking it'd kinda be pointless if the building inspection proved the house wasn't worth touching with a ten foot pole. Do i have to get them started on the conveyancing process before i can ask them stupid questions?

Most likely they will have to execute a new contract. Generally you can't change the terms after it has been executed, especially one as essential as price.

Most conveyancers will be happy to answer some stupid questions as long as they are going to get your money in the end. and the stupid questions don't require much time to answer.

oh ok, and i suppose you could draw up a new contract that was in a shorter timeframe and such. I certainly hope the vendor is willing to move on price, otherwise i'll tell them to stick it.

My mate bought a house and after the building a pest he had a winge about the guttering and he got like 5k refund on the original amount.
I would go back to them hit them up.
Worst case scenario they say no.

The mob I used charged me nothing when I pulled out of the contract I had on a house because it failed B+P.

My sister managed to negotiate getting half the roof replacement paid for on the place she bought after it was brought to her attention by B+P.

Talk to your conveyancing people about the first one, and then the second for maximum surety.

hmm yeah I guess buying houses is a bit bulls***. Especially the conveyancing and inspections. Frankly I'm surprised you were able to determine there was a termite problem from the inspection. Most people read the inspection results and have no f***ing idea what they mean, and the solicitor and stuff aren't legally allowed to give their opinion whether the results are 'good' or 'bad' etc...

I suppose 'termite infestation' is pretty black and white, but imagine if they wrote some s*** like "Leveling of easement on base location south" (that is just some words i made up and threw into a sentence) but seriously most of the conveyancing reports read like gibberish so you have no clue whether they are saying "it's f***ed" or "it's ok".

The solicitor will do the negotiating for you after it has gone to contract. Tell them you want $5k off the price due to B&P or you aren't buying the house and the solicitor will do the rest. Provide them with a quote for proof of amount.

Yeah, i think i will hit them up. as hard as i can. if they don't budge an inch, i'll tell them to get lost.

Idol, yeah, my old man and i spent a good hour dissecting the reports. I even rang the inspector just to clarify in layman's terms that what i thought was wrong was the case.

I've got a quote for the termite treatment, all i've gotta do now is get a quote for the fence i suppose to give them something to go on.

if you're worried about the cost of getting the solicitor to negotiate for you, just negotiate direct with the Agent. The once an agreement is reached, alter the contract if need be and forward it to the solicitor.

You can definately request the price to be dropped, make the agent think that if the termite situation isn't fixed by the vendor or the price isn't revised down to reflect the cost of this, that you will walk away from the sale. Generally they will advise the vendor to fix the issue of revise the price down, unless there is a backup offer and heaps of interest.

Alot of people would walk away at the first sign of termites, so you are in a strong position. The fact that they are close to the house would be enough to make me walk away from the purchase if the vendor didn't fix it or revisse the price down.

i guess it depends on whether someone else is prepared to pay the asking price with teh fence as is

Spidz is on the money as always...

Termites scare a lot of people off straight up, even if they're not in the house.

You should talk to the conveyancer about getting the discount, I wouldn't trust the real estate agent to be on your side considering the final price affects their commission.

Yeah termites that close to the house could be a problem if not fix ASAP. My mate had this problem because the inspector didn't check the all trees etc around the perimetres of the house (it's a pretty large QLDer on 800sqm / 1acre block I think), or his neighbour has tree that was infected with termite (can't remember exactly).

The house itself was _fine_ according to the B&P Inspection reports i.e. was termite free however, because he didn't catch them at the perimetres, after about a couple of years, they attacked the house. Apparently it costs him ~20k to fix the problem poor bugger.

I'd be very very careful about your next decision will be i.e. are you willing to bet that the termites are contained within the fence and hasn't _already_ spread / won't spread to other areas of the house once you moved in etc. If you are very confident that your B&P is 100% accurate, the property is definitely something you want, I'd definitely negotiate to get the price reduce due to the problem or walk away.

Good luck


last edited by Opec at 15:56:46 21/Nov/07

yeah thats true opec. i think i'll be arguing too that i'll need to get the house inspected again in a years time too

alot can happen in a couple of years I wouldn't worry about the termites in the fence too much just go to bunnings and buy some termite killer and keep doing it every 6 months. There are so many termites around its not funny however if you keep your termite barriers in place then you should be fine.

true. My old man always says that termites are just a fact of life living in brisbane, and im starting to think he's right

I have a little suggestion that can give your termite problem a spoonful of sugar. Make your own insecticide. All you need is to find a chemist willing to sell you Borax (hint: chemist across the road from indro foodcourt, and don't listen to chemists who try to dissuade you from buying it - chemists are like a******s who work in hardware stores - they will insist that their store represents the industry as a whole and if they don't have it NO ONE has it... bulls***). Now look up on the internet what food your little friends eat - say woodchips and sugar... mix that s*** up and boil it or something... you know what ... you may wanna google some instructions for making ant killer with borax... I have a mixture with peanut butter and sugar for ants and cockroaches. It's really fun to watch them attack the insecticide and ferry it back to their nests.

heh
nice

if you're going to be getting the fence re-done (corner house or between 2 properties) might be a good time to get the actual lines checked out.. don't want to buy a house or put down a fence if you're going to be doing yourself out of a foot or 1/2 foot of land.. I know in the past getting plots actually checked over to make sure everything is in the right place hasn't been done as part of the sale and when it comes time to 'fix' fence lines protests have been put up..

two things i can add
1. yes you are well within your rights to cancel the contract or request a reduction based on repairs or not meeting p&b. done it myself and had it done.
2. the fence is a tricky issue cause there are neighbours involved....fixing it requires their input and approval. good chance to check out your future neighbours they might be pricks and say no