Termite Inspections

termite inspectionsPeople looking to buy a home in the San Francisco Bay area may want to get out their magnifying glasses, checklists and calculators. At the end of last year, the California Association of Realtors® made several changes to their standard forms. One of the forms that changed was the RPA, also known as the real estate purchase agreement.  Our termite inspections team reviewed the new document and was surprised to see that the organization actually removed Section C.

For those folks who’ve never read over a RPA before, Section C addressed termite inspections and who is supposed to pay for termite related repair. Many real estate agents referred to the section as the Wood Destroying Pest Addendum. So, what does that mean? Essentially, it’s up to San Francisco Bay area buyers to demand termite inspections up front or be faced with the consequences.

If buyers demand that sellers in the San Francisco Bay area present a current termite inspection report before sales negotiations even begin, they’ll have the upper hand. For example, if the termite inspection report reveals that damage is present, buyers could ask for the listing price to be lowered, request credits at closing, demand a home warranty or ask their agents to submit what’s known as a Buyer Request for Repair form to the seller. Of course they could also choose to simply walk away from the sale.

At Times Up Termite, Inc., we are uniquely positioned to help home buyers and sellers in wake of the recent form changes. Why? Simply put, we offer free termite inspections, lifetime warranties and construction/repairs services. So, we can help before, during and after the home buying/selling process. For instance, let’s say that a buyer demands a termite inspection before moving ahead with negotiations.

The seller, when presented with the potential buyer’s demands, chooses to call us and we complete a free termite inspection. It shows that termite damage exists and our team draws up an estimate on what it would cost to make repairs. The sellers could use the estimate to adjust their selling price accordingly. Once the sale is made, our team could show up at the new owner’s request and start making the necessary repairs right away. To learn more about what changes to California’s standard real estate contracts mean for San Francisco Bay Area buyers, please contact us at Times Up Termite today.