All along the only two exterior rim joists we could see in an unfinished basement room I saw termite tunnels. Many of them. The lot is dark and wooded and the basement is completely subterranean.
When my client's Realtor called the other agent, just to give a head's up, she said, "Your inspector is wrong. I was in the house and saw no termites."
All I could do was smile.
That is a PERFECTLY irrelevant statement.
Did she see the poison ivy in the yard? She was in the yard.
Or the 1000 pound limb broken off and ready to fall onto the roof? She was in the yard.
How about the missing shingles near the chimney and the wet roof sheathing inside the attic right underneath? She was in the yard.
And because she was there and did not see it that means it does not exist? And/or the home inspector must be wrong?
Does she hear the tree falling in the woods when nobody is present?
I realize I am not the termite inspector. And I have NO juice as regards termites. I realize that I could see a 40 pound termite and it would mean nothing. I am not the termite inspector!
But I did see many tunnels! We all did! Are they active? I don't know. I am reporting that I saw termite tunnels. And they can go from there! I am simply employing my Best Practices. I don't invent stuff!
But to say I am wrong is a bit silly. There have been many times I have found active termites in houses recently proclaimed "termite free" by termite inspectors. Here is one of them. And I wasn't wrong...
My recommendation: facts are facts. It is not smart to confuse issues with irrelevant statements. The house is the house and when a home inspector sees something, reports it and has photos to back it up, it's best to go with the flow. And deal with it from that point on.
Comments(62)