You suddenly find yourself in a rude awakening: termites have been chomping your home down to a shell without your knowledge. What’s even worse is, the moment you realize that you have the unwanted pests in your home, the damage has already been done, and the infestation has already reached a critical stage.
Termites are one of the biggest fears for any homeowner and some of the worst nightmares for home sellers. Because the nasty buggers feed primarily on wood, they can compromise the structural integrity, stability, and safety of your home. If a termite infestation is left unattended, it can even leave a home unfit for normal day-to-day living.
There are viable home repair solutions, but they are often very expensive. Most of the time, they are out of the reach of your average Joe. What’s more, based on the law, sellers are required to disclose any termite problems they may have experienced in their home, even if they are fixed. This means that after you have paid the exterminator a significant amount of money to deal with the infestation, a potential buyer can still bolt at the last minute if he discovers that you have had termite devastation in the past. So if you are thinking to sell my house with termite damage, stick around and you will learn a thing or two in making the best decision for you and your home.
How Termites Can Cause Serious Problems To A House In Arizona
Termites pose a serious challenge to homeowners in Arizona, as the state houses one of the most active subterranean termite “belts” in North America. The Grand Canyon State is also home to the dry wood termite, a highly invasive and devastating termite species in the US.
Prevalence Of Termites In Arizona
So how common are termites in Arizona? The answer might astound you. Across the state, it is estimated that there are 3 to 5 termite colonies per acre of land. It’s even worse if you reside in Tucson as a recent study points out that there is a shocking 12 to 18 colonies per acre. And if you consider the fact that a single colony is home to at least 100,000 individual termites, you begin to realize how serious termite infestation in Arizona is.
Potential Damage
Every year, termites cause millions of dollars worth of damage to Arizona homes. In fact, the wood-munching pests cause greater property damage than tornadoes, earthquakes, and fires combined. Depending on the severity of the infestation, termite devastation can lose you a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars in-home repairs and rehabilitation.
And the nasty buggers don’t just chow down on the wood. They also bite down on papers, books, memorabilia, photographs, and even pool liners. But perhaps the biggest concern when it comes to termites is their ability to compromise the structural integrity of your home. Houses that have been significantly damaged by termite infestation can be unsafe for living as its foundations, beams and supports might be too broken down to keep the house from falling apart.
Termites feed on cellulose which is a basic structural component in wood and any form of plant material for that matter. This means that they will search for any structure, whether it’s furniture or wall made out of cellulose. The damage they create in homes is considered a serious safety concern as they can turn any perfectly solid and robust wooden structure into a brittle, hollow shell.
There are also certain species of termites, particularly the damp-wood species, that have powerful mandibles or insect jaws. With their strong mandibles, these termites can bite down any electrical wiring or cable they can get their jaws on if digestible cellulose is scarce and it can be one of the causes of a short circuit in your home. Short circuits can cause fires and other electrical accidents which means you should treat the problem seriously.
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We buy houses in ANY CONDITION in Arizona. There are no commissions or fees and no obligation whatsoever. Start below by giving us a bit of information about your property or call 480-680-8927...Do You Have To Disclose Termites When Selling A House?
I need to sell a house with termite damage but do I need to reveal its true status? If you reside in Arizona, then you are obliged by law to disclose any and all relevant facts about the property you are selling, and this includes termites. Any property sold in the state will always follow a disclosure process. Some questions need to be answered about zoning issues, parking, signage, leases, contracts, security lighting, and termites.
The Arizona Association of Realtors or AAR has made a disclosure form to aid sellers in accomplishing their legal duties when selling their homes. It’s six pages long and is often referred to as the Residential Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement or SPDS.
The form shows roof and plumbing leaks, termites, electrical problems, pool or spa issues, and other concerns that the buyer will need to be aware of before purchasing the home. You will also need to present the buyer with a copy of a report detailing a five-year history of insurance claims or the duration in which you have owned the property.
However, it’s important to remember that not everything should be disclosed per Arizona law. There are three things that you don’t need to disclose about your home to a potential buyer and they include:
- There is no need to inform a potential buyer that your home has been the place of a natural death, suicide, homicide, or any form of a crime classified as a felony.
- There is no need to inform a potential buyer that your home has been in possession or has been resided by a person who has suffered from HIV or diagnosed with AIDS or any other form of the disease that cannot be passed from person to person through ordinary occupancy.
- There is no need to inform a potential buyer that your home sits in an area of a sex offender.
How To Sell A House That Has Had Termites Fast
I want to sell my house with termite damage, but how? This is a problem that most people encounter as they are only confronted with this reality when they are ready to sell their homes. If you have been saying “I need to sell a house with termite damage” to your family, friends, and just about anyone you know, you need to realize that a history of termite problems can significantly affect the price of your home.
Termites pose serious issues when they invade any house. The tiny menaces can ravage wooden furnishing, compromise the structural integrity of your home, and even chump down on the siding. So if discover that your house is sitting on top of a termite colony, the first best thing that you need to do is have a professional termite control specialist stop them in their tracks. There are a number of signs that would tell that your home has been housing termites:
- Presence of mud tunnels in foundations and support beams. These tunnels appear like dry mud and termites use them to travel from their colony towards their feeding areas.
- It’s also possible that termites are invading your home even if there are no signs of mud tunnels as the pests eat wood from the inside out. With that being said, try to tap the support beams and foundations of your home. If it generates a hollow sound, then it means that termites have already been chewing it from the inside.
- Also, termites generally leave traces of droppings that look like fine sawdust piles after they feed on wood. These droppings are a good indication of nearby termite infestation.
- Another visible sign is a trace of discarded wings in windowsills or within your home’s vicinity. Termites normally flock in the spring and shed their wings. If you see a great number of small insect wings near your home, then termites may have already decided to choose your home as their next colony.
Now going back to the problem involving how to sell my house with termite damage, there is one important thing that you need to consider. Because the great state of Arizona will require you to disclose any termite issues when you sell your home, you might find it extremely difficult to find a buyer once they realize that your home has been ravaged by termites. Even after you have paid an exterminator to deal with the problem, chances are, potential buyers will flee the moment they see “termite damage” in your disclosure form.
But there is one good way to maximize your home’s value even if it has been damaged by termites. So if you have found yourself saying “I need to sell a house with termite damage!” searching for cash home buyers in Arizona is going to be your best bet in selling your home and selling it fast for cash. At Cash For Homes Arizona, we buy houses Arizona – in Phoenix and anywhere in the Grand Canyon State! What’s more, we buy houses Phoenix, AZ and we’ll give you the highest cash offer for your home. Contact us today, and get an offer for your home in as little as seven days!
Reasons To Sell A Home As-Is
When it’s time to sell your home, there are plenty of things that you need to deal with including necessary repairs, repainting, replacing important light fixtures and a whole lot more, to make your house buyer friendly.
All this work will require a lot of money on your part. If you don’t want to spend a single dime in getting the right amount of cash for your home, then selling a home “as-is” to buyers like fast cash home buyers is the best possible route you can take. What’s more, you don’t have to exhaust yourself in upgrading your house or doing the necessary repairs when you sell it as is. Some of the potential benefits that you can enjoy with this convenient option include:
- Zero Costs – Major upgrades and expenses come with a hefty price tag, and you are often left with no choice but to take the bill or else your house won’t be that attractive to potential buyers. By selling your home “as-is”, you relieve yourself from such a costly hassle. There is no need to make any form of refurbishment whatsoever and even minor fixes are not important. This means that you can save a lot of money as well as time and energy in packaging your home for buyers. Don’t give yourself a headache in making improvements and enjoy quick cash transactions by selling your home “as-is”.
- Zero work – Aside from rehabbing your home, you will also need to put away personal belongings, do a thorough clean and sort different things to make it appealing to buyers. Those that buy your homes “as is” like fast cash home buyers will not give you any form of trouble or inconvenience. All you need to do is to disclose all those important belongings that you will be taking along with you and leave those that are no longer of value to you when you put the house on sale. It’s that simple!
- Zero delay – When you try to sell your home the old-fashioned way, it would take a lot of time and effort on your part and getting the money in a matter of days is almost impossible. What’s more, if the buyer sees that you are desperate to sell your home, he can use this as an opportunity to keep the value of your hometown. When you decide to sell your home to “as-is” buyers, your home will be sold instantly and the money funded to you in a week. And the best part of it is that you get the real value of your home upfront.
- Zero stress – Finding the right buyer for your home and selling it involves a lot of work and hustling. If you feel that such a process of marketing your home and dealing with tons of paperwork and arranging documents is too complex and demanding, then it would make perfect sense to sell your property “as-is”.
There are certainly plenty of homebuyers in Phoenix and many parts of Arizona, but if you wish to sell my house with termite damage or “as-is”, then it becomes quite a challenge. That’s where is “as-is” home buying from companies like fast cash home buyers stand out from the rest. Fast cash home buyers can reward you in with a genuinely smooth and seamless selling process that will relieve you from spending a lot of time, energy, and money in rehabbing your house. Enjoy the advantages in abundance by selling the home as-is to fast cash home buyers. We buy houses Arizona and we don’t care what condition they are in because we buy houses Phoenix AZ as well. And we buy them fast, for cash!