Being in the roof space, it was not obvious, unless you got up there and stuck your head inside the roof to take a look. How many houses have you inspected where you are getting up into the roof cavity to take a peek?
The only way to see how bad the situation was, was to punch holes in the wall to see the damage the termites had caused. Being the day before the auction, the agent was not prepared to do this. That's right, the agent was aware of the pest infestation. He was onsite with our inspector. How many buyers do you think he then told about it?
Our inspector estimated the cost to repair the termite damage was north of $50,000. Based on this report, we were not prepared to still consider buying this home for our client. .
The two most recent sales in the area for this particular type of home (in the past month) were sales for $950,000. So that is where the value of this property would sit. However, with the termite infestation and cost to repair, you would need to be taking this into consideration and off your purchase price.
The home sold on Saturday. What did it sell for? $950,000.
Clearly, the buyer of this home did not do any homework or due diligence and certainly would not have had a pest inspection done. I would not be buying that house, full of termites, for $950,000 (nor allow my clients to buy it) and I don't think any buyer that knew the extent of the issue would have either.
Once you add stamp duty, some uninformed buyer has just spent close to $1m on a house that will now cost them many more thousands of dollars to fix.
It really is a sad situation for that buyer - I doubt they even realise yet that their new home already has a few tenants!
But it's a situation that can easily be avoided when you're supported by the right people on your buying journey. We know all the checks and balances that need to be done as you journey through the process of buying a house. It is a very long list - let us make sure you get this important decision right.
It still baffles me that people are prepared to spend close to a million dollars or more to buy a home yet won't spend $600 on essential due diligence. In fact, they don't even know the due diligence they're supposed to be doing.
To use an analogy, when your toilet backs up, do you stick your hand down there, or do you call a professional? You're making a call, right?
So why is buying a house any different? A trusted, impartial professional will help you navigate the pitfalls on your home buying journey.
If you're home hunting and know you need a hand, let's chat. We are here for you.
