No such thing as termites?

Hits: 19

In the high desert, such as in Santa Fe, NM, one can be excused for thinking that termites might not thrive, but we can be blessed with them without knowing they have invaded our homes. Yes they exist here and yes they can do serious damage to a home. The general rule is no wood building product should be in contact with the ground in a home. This is easy to say but sometimes difficult to accomplish.

The soil level may change on the exterior of a home and cracked stucco or the foundation may allow a family of termites to find access to the wood studs inside your walls, along with any other material they may like to devour. I am certain that someone told me 33 years ago when I moved here that we don’t have termites. Wrong answer.

Instead of perpetuating the myth that they do not exist here, why not find out? If you are real estate professional and are working with a seller or a buyer, a termite (or “pest”) inspection should be a normal part of your conversation with your customer, just the same as if there is a water well and the buyer wants it tested and inspected. Last I heard, a termite inspection was pretty affordable compared to the cost of remediation. Somewhere between $75 and $150 maybe? Now, the treatment can cost more, of course. If the professional pest person finds evidence of termites, treating and exterminating them must be done right away. It is no different that repairing a leaky roof. The longer the invasion continues, the more damage might be done, and the cost of repairs will only go up.

Stacks of firewood leaning against a home are a good example of something to avoid, the wood in contact with the ground below is enough to foster a termite colony. And leaning against the home? That seems like a gold-plated invitation to invade the home for the little critters. Why make it easy? Move the wood.

If you leave a piece of lumber laying in the dirt near your home, you will find that it might be riddled with termite damage in a matter of a few weeks, or possibly a month or two. Your home sits there all day every day and looks delicious for those bugs. Don’t let them in. They don’t know when to stop and will just breed and damage more of your home if you let them.

As a homeowner planning to sell, get a pre-listing professional inspection of your property and fix what needs fixing. Then make that report available to buyer prospects and show them the receipts for the repairs you had done. This removes some of the major hurdles to buyers following through with their intent to purchase your home. And get a pest inspection too. Having it to show a buyer may give everyone confidence that all investigation and testing is being done such that the buyer gets the home they want, not the home they are sorry to have purchased.

Posted in Home Values, Real estate career, Santa Fe area real estate and tagged , , , , .

The writer is a 68 year-old young man engaged as an active REALTOR (associate broker) with Keller Williams, in real estate sales and management in the Santa Fe NM market area. My career has been in and around the real estate industry for more than 35 years, ranging from mortgage lending (interim, commercial, residential); residential property management and leasing; shopping center development and leasing; real estate sales; sales training; title insurance as an executive and an escrow officer; various management positions; consulting and other related activities. That plus a bunch of banking experience including our family-owned Bank of Santa Fe in the 1980s. Where has the time gone?
My background means you have my working knowledge of the entire transaction process at your disposal. That comes with honesty and no bullshit.