Termites in my IP!

[arowana]

recently i bought an IP in a good suburb, did a termite and building inspection and the report stated that there was termite damages with no live termites found. and since the price was within our budget, we bought the place.

now when my tradie went in to tear down some walls for renno, he found some live termites crawling out! i got another pest controller and this guy say that there are live termites all over the house!

this is my 1st IP and it turn out so bad when i havent even start to fix it up.
if u are face with such a situation, what will you do? please advise, urgently.

 

[marg4000]

Not sure where you stand legally with the building inspectors, but now you own the place the first thing is to get the termites treated immediately.
Marg

 

[ffc1883_1996]

Did you speak with the pest inspection company? What guarantees do they offer?

Also, are there any signs of a cover up by the previous owners or any evidence that they knew of the problem before they sold the property? Perhaps you have a claim against them.

 

[arowana]

Did you speak with the pest inspection company? What guarantees do they offer?

Also, are there any signs of a cover up by the previous owners or any evidence that they knew of the problem before they sold the property? Perhaps you have a claim against them.

i went thru an agent for the house. and i believe the owner and the agent knew the extent of the termites damages to the house. However, it is the failure of the pest inspection that didnt highlight there were any live termites.

im getting aother pest controller to treat the house against the termites and a builder to quote on the structural repairs. Gosh, this will cost me a bomb!

do u think i will have a good case against the pest inspector, agent and owner?

 

[ffc1883_1996]

do u think i will have a good case against the pest inspector, agent and owner?

My understanding is limited but I believe that, in Victoria, the vendor is obliged to disclose termite issues IF THEY ARE AWARE OF THEM. Failing this, the costs to repair the damage and remove the pests can be claimed against the vendor. When I heard about this I made a mental note NEVER to get a termite inspection done to a house that I plan on selling.

Regarding your pest inspector, read the report that they gave you from cover to cover. What responsibility do they accept (if any)? Is there a “Complaints Procedure”?

Did you use a solicitor to assist with the purchase? If so, they’ve probably seen this happen before and could advise you where to start.

 

[Jayro]

You will find that reading the fine print from the pest company will state that they cant be sure that termites are not in walls etc etc (any area they cannot access basically) There is ample fine print that protects them generally.

At the end of the day the point is that you do have termites in your property and they need to be delt with NOW!

We were on holidays 2 yrs ago and received a call from our PM informing us that the pest company doing a regular pest treatment for us had found termites through the place in pergola, retaining walls etc. I got off the phone, took a deep breath, talked to my wife about if for the next 10minutes, called the pest company to talk options. There were several options but seeing as though it is a nasty pest and a property that I cant keep an eye on as I dont live there I chose (what we felt) was the best action to choose. Sure it was expensive and cost us $4000 but this was for a full yrs treatment, plus all the installation of bait stations, core hole drilling in concrete etc etc. And seems to have done the trick, fingures crossed. Very strange actually, I just read this topic and not 10minutes ago sent an email to the pest company asking about a followup treatment this yr as it has been over 12months since they last looked at the property.

Sure they are a nasty critter, BUT they just need to be delt with. I had my father inlaw telling me I wasted my $4000 as for those dollars he could replace the walls as the termites ate through them, God love him, he does mean well and is very handy at the old gyprocking but honestly,

Jayro

 

[Noeyedear]

Agree with Jayro here. About 10 yrs ago I bought a property with termites. I had a pest and building done as well.

As Jayro says in the fine print will be an out for the pest and building inspectors. The termites I had were in a massive nest above the ensuite and main bathrooms. I just had to take a deep breath and do whatever it took to fix it.

The first step was to eradicate the existing termites. Once you are sure they have stopped munching as long as there is no structual damage you can fix the damage done in your own time frame.

Good luck,
Bill

 

[Spectre]

arowana

i've found (and its me) that I never use the inspector that the agent pushes. I've only got 1 b&p guy I use and hes a nazi - agents wont refer to him but they use him for their stuff when the buy.

But onto your issues...

You cant go after damages until you incur them, so as it has been said I'd fix the damages and then ring your solicitor to check your outcomes.

it might also cost you more to litigate than your damages.

But you could always lodge a complaint thru the builders assoc if they are listed on it as well as ring their insurance company.

Years ago I had a car zooped up, the mechanic stuffed a thing up and the engine blew. I sued him, and he let the insurance company handle the claim. End of the day I lost $5k in legal costs but his insurance premium tripled as they had to pay it out.

 

[crc_error]

should you get termite protection done as maintaince on property? How much would this cost?

 

[Noeyedear]

Hi CRC,
Termite protection is not cheap. Anywhere from 2 to 4k. But they can be expensive little buggers if they are not stopped. You then have to have 12mth inspections to keep your guarentee.

I recently purchased a property that is 12yrs old. The pest and building inspectors were extremely thorough and used thermal imaging as well as a dog that is trained to pick up the scent of termites. I am positive there is no termites.

But the original termite protection is now out of its 10yr guarantee. So I will invest in a chemical barrier some time later this year probably. To protect my investment.

Cheers Bill

 

[arowana]

so i have no case against the 1st building and pest inspectors that gave me an inaccurate report on the termites existence and damages?

 

[kissfan]

so i have no case against the 1st building and pest inspectors that gave me an inaccurate report on the termites existence and damages?

Hi arowana.

As already mentioned, most pest inspectors cover themselves legally in the small print. Even if you 'went after them', would probably cost more in court costs that what it's worth.

Possibly ask the solicitor who handled your paperwork for the purchase of the property.

Regards
Marty

 

[ffc1883_1996]

Talk to your solicitor but you may have a case against the previous owners.

 

[crc_error]

my property is on a slab, can termites come up through the slab?

 

[jaycee]

I would investigate to find out if the company that did the report is required to compensate you. What is the point of the report otherwise.

I would suggest calling DOCEP / fair trading and find out the basic ruling.. You have already done the first thing which is treat the termites.

I think the company who told you there were no active termites should be liable for something, but, as damage already existed (and they reported it) , would be expected to pay for most of it. Perhaps they are just liable to pay for treating the existing termites, since you got someone else to treat them, they may be required to reimburse you all/some of that cost at least. Otherwise, what is the purpose of such inspections ? I'm sure I heard about an operator in WA having to do some treatment on a house he reported was free of termites… Anyway, I suggest asking before you write it off.

Termite treatments start at around $500, not $2k….. Now, a 2 bed square shaped house on a simple block is going to be different than a 5 bed with adjoining rooms & architect built entertaining are and adjoining shed/workstation garage etc..

But basically, it comes down to a) prevention b) cure

A) Prevention: All that can be done is to prevent termites fro getting into places you don’t; want them to eat - house / back shed etc. Around each item that needs to be protected from termites getting in & eating them, assuming a they have a concrete floor, a barrier gets injected so that termites physically cannot climb through the brick walls into the place. This is the drilling into concrete spoken of.

B) Cure: where termites are found, you want to stope them in their tacks. Because they live in nests, there will be 1000000's more than you see, so killing the ones you see will not achieve anything at all. Places where there are active termites are baited with poison so that the termites take the poison in pieces of wood back to the nest & feed their buddies and die.

Bait stations are a way of treating current active termites, or as a way of finding more so they can be killed before they do more damage to the property. Basically, they are extra bells & whistles, one pest controller might use bait stations, one might use something else…. A bait station on it’s own is not a treatment, a treatment without bait is not necessaily less of a treatment

 

[jimbo_jones]

my property is on a slab, can termites come up through the slab?

Yes, crc.

Those nasty little buggers can come up through any slab penetration, eg: sewer/floor wastes etc.

Usually there is a system installed under slabs and around penetrations, eg: stainless mesh, or small gauge rock particles, or a chemical system.

Hope this helps.

JJ

 

[jaycee]

Yes they can come up through the slab. Before as slab is put down, the ground is sprayed, this is what stops the termites from crawling into slight cracks of the slab, as also menitoned, products like a mesh etc are also used these days, not sure what is considered mandatory at the moment, some of the newer products were considered extra protecdtion, but not required / mandatory… OF course what can happen is tha the chemical under a slabe etc can move, which provides uncovered aeas which termites can crawl through

But they also get into such houses through the brick walls which joins onto the slab, which are not built 100% on top of the concrete slab - this means termites can crawl through hairline cracks on the brick wall & crawl freely through the brick wall cavity until they find wood to eat (good for them too, cause it's dark in their which they prefer (As light kills them).

That's why around houses, they inject chemical, creating a perimeter barrier stopping the nasty buggers form being able to get into the walls as well as the slab…

 

[equitymate]

Slabs are more susceptable than stumps. If garden beds or soil around the house is higher than the slab, risk is increased. Cracks in the slab also provide entry points.

 

[crc_error]

those things are nasty.. gee!

What do people do here? Do you get treatments for protection, or just pray for the best?

 

[arowana]

thanks to all that have contributed to my question.

as you would have known, im a new migrant from another country where buildings are made of concrete and termites are unheard of.

the building inspection report was just a form with checked box marked by the inspector with one liner. nothing too detailed or expressive. when i ask both the building and inspection inspectors about the condition of the house, they just brushed me off and said; "read my reports". i called them when i couldnt make the heads/tails out of their findings, they keep saying; "did you read my reports?". very frustrating.

l lamented that i should get another round of building and pest inspection instead. i consulted several lawyers and none has indicated a strong win for me.
look like i have to sink in some serious money to rectify the damages.