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Following the due diligence theme, for those of us investing in fixer upper houses, we follow the outline from “Real Estate Investing for Dummies.” As a reminder, the due diligence period is the time period between the acceptance of the offer and the close of escrow. It is the time to find out if you really want the property. If its not as good as you thought, you can ask the seller for adjustments, or get out of the contract.
Pest Control
For a good pest control inspection, it’s a good idea to contract with a pest control firm and not try to do it yourself. A thorough inspection by an expert will cover much more than just infestations by wood-destroying insects. It will also document property damage by organisms that destroy wood and other building materials. This type of damage is referred to as dry rot, and they are caused by a fungus that needs moisture to multiply.
What you want, and what a good pest inspector will provide, is a diagram of the property showing the locations of damage from insects and dry rot. Sometimes these conditions require immediate attention, while others are areas to keep an eye in the future.
Serious Problems
Serious problems are those which affect the structure of house. Responses to this type or problem are:
-repair or replace the wood that has been damaged. The seller is almost always responsible to make the repairs on this type of damage. Lenders will generally not provide funds for a property until the work is completed by a licensed contractor.
Less Serious Problems
These problems do not present an immediate threat to occupants or the property, and can be dealt with at some future time. They don’t affect the structural security, but that doesn’t mean that they can be ignored indefinitely. If not addressed soon after closing, they can easily develop into serious problems that require you to address when you sell the property down the line.
Termites, a relentless foe describes an encounter that I had in a fixer-upper house with the wiley termite.
NEXT UP: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Moolanomy has an excellent post entitled Dave Ramsey’s Baby Step 6: Pay Off Home Early
Another insightful article at ezinearticles is Investment Property – Ways to Earn
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Tags: dry rot, due diligence, fixer upper houses, pest control, property inspection, termites
I do agree for the dry rot is the cause of powdering and cracking of the wood. Nice article!
It is a nice article to read out, and I am agreed to you that peoples are doing themselves pest control to saving money and damaging their own property. So also suggest that to hire a pest control firm is a better way to handle such things.