Another Building a Pest Inspection Thread

Hi everyone,

I can see that there is another building a pest inspection results thread on here, but I didn't want to hijack that posters question when it wasn't fully resolved. So for those who don't mind another one, I'd love your advice! I'm going to be as detailed as possible to give you a full picture, so I hope you come along for the ride :)

Here is the lowdown:
  • Property originally listed at $179,000, residex values it at $174,000
  • Price reduced to $159,000 when I came across it
  • I put an offer in for $145,000 subject to the following conditions:
    • Settlement Period - 30 day settlement
    • Deposit and Payment- a deposit of $1000 3 days from contract date (both parties signing) with no extra deposit, balance paid on settlement date
    • Finance - subject to finance 21 days from acceptance of this offer (Contract date, both parties signing)
    • Inspections - subject to the Buyer being satisfied with the state of the property following receipt of a property building and pest inspection report. (All expenses for the property inspection report are to be paid for by the Buyer. Satisfaction in relation to the state of the property following receipt of the property inspection report is determined in the discretion of the Buyer and the Buyer’s satisfaction shall only be evidenced by the Buyer providing to the Seller, or the Seller’s agent, a letter of satisfaction with 10 business days of acceptance of the Contract. If no letter is provided to the Seller or the Seller’s agent within 10 business days of acceptance, then this offer will come to an end without the necessity for either party to give notice to that effect. The deposit and all other monies (if any) paid pursuant to the Contract shall be refunded to the Buyer. The Seller agrees to provide reasonable access to the property to the Buyer/or the Buyer’s representatives for the purpose of the inspection)
  • Conditions accepted, went back and forth with vendor and came to $152,500 that we were both happy with
Building and pest inspection ordered and carried out, which brings us to the current issue.

I've extracted the areas of concern from the report and separated them into 'little problems that i don't think require attention prior to settlement' and 'big problems that do require attention'. I'm just waiting on the inspector to get back to me so that I can get an idea on the cost of rectifying the big issues, and then offering the vendor the option to either rectify the issues prior to settlement, or reduce my offer by that amount so that I can rectify the issues prior to settlement.

So what I'm asking of you, oh wise Somersoftians, is whether I've separated the lists properly (i.e. are there things I should be more worried about/things that I shouldn't worry as much about) and how should I word the email to the agent (and therefore to the vendor)?

Acceptable level of damage, considering age of property, no attention required prior to settlement:
  • General Cracking to the driveway
  • General Cracking to the paths
  • General Damage evident to garage - maintenance required
  • Denting to fences evident
  • Cracking to wall lining in all rooms
  • Laundry door is binding and requires adjustment
  • Striker plate to the door jamb is missing in bathroom and requires replacement
  • Damage to vinyl flooring in bathroom
  • Bedroom 1 door is binding and requires adjustment
  • Gutters require cleaning
  • Gutters and downpipes need to be checked for watertightness
  • Weather damage to the fascia and barges due to exposure
  • Timber decay to the bottom plate in the shed wall

Areas of concern that require attention prior to settlement:
  • Some external cladding needs replacing due to weather damage and timber decay
  • Weather damage to timber windows
  • Kitchen bench requires sealing
  • Termite damage evident to skirting boards behind the kitchen entrance door
  • Roof sarking is torn and sagging in various areas
  • Roof sheeting and flashings require fixing down to some areas
  • The bearers (floor framing timbers) around wet areas have evidence of termite damage and timber decay and require replacement
  • Visible evidence of subterranean termite workings and damage to skirting boards to the rear room
  • Degree of risk of a subterranean termite infestation to the overall property is considered high

Please help!
 
All those concern items apart from the termites are minor and relatively cheap.

The termite damage is the big thing, was there any evidence of active termite workings? I would get a builder to assess damage and quote repairs. You may be up for 5+ grand in timber work
 
All those concern items apart from the termites are minor and relatively cheap.

The termite damage is the big thing, was there any evidence of active termite workings? I would get a builder to assess damage and quote repairs. You may be up for 5+ grand in timber work

Thanks for the quick reply Dave, the report indicated that there was no evidence of active termites present at the time of inspection.
 
I suppose my main question is : did you and or the vendor know of many of these issues and price/offer accordingly.

For me the B&P is to find things that I didn't notice or are not self evident due to the fact I'm not a builder or are not apparent to a cursory inspection.

If you are going to rent it out then you need to ensure you are proving a safe environment for your tenant.

I'd be worried about the Termite damage and some of the major items but the Vendor does not need to reduce the price if they don't want to unless the item is a legal requirement.
 
Considering this is a property worth only $145k there is nothing there off putting. At that rate your probably only paying land value anyway. If it was me though I would make a big deal about it and put in a lower offer because XYZ is unsatisfactory.

I just did this myself today and got 10k off a property we are purchasing which we did a B&P for so it's worth a shot.
 
I suppose my main question is : did you and or the vendor know of many of these issues and price/offer accordingly.

For me the B&P is to find things that I didn't notice or are not self evident due to the fact I'm not a builder or are not apparent to a cursory inspection.

If you are going to rent it out then you need to ensure you are proving a safe environment for your tenant.

I'd be worried about the Termite damage and some of the major items but the Vendor does not need to reduce the price if they don't want to unless the item is a legal requirement.

Thanks Westminster. The property is tenanted at the moment (current lease ending December 2013), and I was not able to get access to the property while I was in town. I made an offer sight unseen with a building and pest inspection clause to be able to make an educated decision on the condition of the property.

For me the property stacked up in all other aspects, there isn't really anything that wouldn't have been captured on the building report that I could I have seen in the property that would have changed the way that it stacked up for me.

I really appreciate your response though, thank you.
 
Considering this is a property worth only $145k there is nothing there off putting. At that rate your probably only paying land value anyway. If it was me though I would make a big deal about it and put in a lower offer because XYZ is unsatisfactory.

I just did this myself today and got 10k off a property we are purchasing which we did a B&P for so it's worth a shot.

Thank you OK180, that's what I was thinking too!

The property is in a regional centre and I estimate the land value to be about 100k (based on another property I have in the area with similar land attributes).
 
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