P&B Report White Ants

Need some advice:

Currently in contract for a house and the P&B revealed some termite damage on some post and the little critters found on another post in another part of the yard.

There is no evidence of white ants in or around the house, however, I wanted to use this as some further negotiation. Has anyone been in a similar situation and/or what would you do in terms of getting an outcome i.e. request for a termite barrier to be installed (few G's), get the wood sprayed/terminate the white ants?

Thoughts?

 

Go into smacked tit mode and demand a big discount.

 

Get the vendor to chemically treat the termite affected fence/retaining wall and replace the post... thats probably it.
I wouldn't budge if I was the vendor, the house is untouched.

 

Yeah that's what I would do as a vendor as well. I think if the market wasn't heating up then I could probably push further but there is a lot of interest in the property. In saying this, any presence of white ants would probably scare a lot of the first home buyers away.

 

No white ants in the house. Termites exist in trees near some of my properties. I don't expect vendors to discount for that. I suspect even flighty FHBs would not be worried for more than 10 seconds.

 

You have a contract in place. I assume cooling off period and clauses which only you can terminate? You have all the power, ask for a chunk off the price, you never know what they will come back with. I reckon I'm a tough cookie when it comes to negotiating but if that came back and someone asked for a discount of a few k's I would probably give it to them just to close the deal even if other people are interested.

 

Possibly, but if its a older house in Qld it would be surprising if they weren't present somewhere around the yard in a tree stump or old bit of timber.

 

Also what is the condition for the B&P on the CoS?

If it is of the main structure or compromises the structural integrity good luck getting anything.

Personally just treat it yourself, you will destroy a lot more good will by demanding a discount (which they will be unlikely to allow).

 

Brick/tile concrete slab built in the 1990's so not that old.

 

It might have a Termimesh barrier then? I think many newer places from the early/mid 90s use this rather than a chemical barrier.

 

Maybe but they generally last about 8 years don't they?

 

Do you request via email (with pics/details) or phone call into the RE agent

 

Just communicate through your solicitor, you want a discount based on xyz with a response by COB Friday.

 

What condition did you have originally in the contract of sale for B&P?

If it is for structural integrity of the main dwelling then good luck with anything.

The discount will be done through your solicitor as others have mentioned.

 

No the mesh should last a lot longer but they usually need to be inspected for the warranty to be valid.
A chemical barrier like Termidor lasts 8 years from memory.

 

I always use B&P reports to negotiate further.

Usually I attach the B&P report to maintain validity (as they generally exaggerate problems) and include a pricey quote to fix/treat issues to its entirety. I will then request a discount slightly below the quotes accepting that a property of this age would have certain defects in place. Often, an unsuspecting vendor will see this as a compromise on your behalf and is more likely to accept your discount.

Always go through your solicitor as it comes across more legit and the agent will have less of a chance to talk the vendor out of it

Its worked very well in the past and the worst thing that's happened was a flat out no which I would have been happy to accept anyway.

 

Do you negotiate direct with the REA or via solicitor?

 

Solicitor to reduce chance of agent talking vendor out of it

 

Why would REA want to talk vendor out of a sale though..its in his best interest to make it happen.