How A San Gabriel Home With Termites Becomes A ‘Fixer Upper’
All Track Exterminators sees minor to major structural repairs daily. California State, in particular, the California Department of Real Estate does not Require a seller to clear your property of wood destroying organisms. With that California and the Structural Pest Control Board has the same information.
Below is an article about the famous reality home improvement shows we have all been glued to our TV watching. Here is a picture of a typical Southern California residential home siding. Upon visual inspection, you can see the minor damages to the trim and siding and what appears to be a handyman patch (bad patch).
What isn’t explained in those shows can be seen in this next picture. It contains a (16) sixteen-foot feeding frenzy of termites holding hands destroying the frame from within. Buying your new home or property investment is a “Buyer Be Ware”!
A lot of properties today are overpriced if the home selller wasn’t matianing the property. Does having a seller neglect termite issues for 20 or 30 years and still able to recoup all of the property sales market value seem fair to you?
This wood damage went all the way down to the base of the structural frame main support wood members.
Here Is the article:
Experts argue that shows like “Fixer Upper” and “Flip or Flop” set unrealistic expectations about costs, time frames. What about termite damages noted on San Gabriel Valley properties in the Greater Los Angeles areas?
Look, I’m, a fan of those hit reality shows. One thing is to show creative design ideas or help with quick fixes, I love it!
In reality, everything takes time for restoration and repairs. When a problem arises the responsible contractor must stop all work to validate the solutions and homeowners need to be updated on the new overcharge to occur.
Shows like DIY Networks, have created a phenomenon that Americans can’t imagine life without. But when HGTV debuted nearly 25 years ago, the idea of turning on the TV and being entertained by a bathroom renovation was ludicrous. Today, however, TV execs see home and garden improvement shows like “Property Brothers,” “Fixer Upper,” and “Love It or List It” as lucrative.
Unfortunately, their popularity comes at the expense of not just real estate professionals but all connected with repairing a structure. Unlike viewers, service professionals know first hand that what makes for good reality TV can make for bad reality out in the real world.
Here are some reasons why some experts, myself included wants you to turn off HGTV.
Knocking down walls isn’t that easy
Soap operas have kissing scenes and action movies have car chases. On HGTV, there is usually always a scene where a wall or two get knocked down. That’s OK on shows like “Good Bones,” but in real life, walls are often the last thing you want to touch. California has termites this can only be seen with a professional termite inspection.
When someone buys a ’90s-era home which was built quickly and on the cheap, we cant rip out walls,” says Teris Pantazes, a licensed contractor in Baltimore, and manager of E Fynch. Its important for a home to have a strong structural foundation. I have been in this business for a long time but I’m not an engineer. I still have customers question me and I see them waste tons of money to verify what I already told them.
Transactions and transformations take a LOT of time
“The No. 1 problem with real estate television shows is that they significantly shorten the amount of time that almost anything takes, for the purposes of advancing the narrative, explains Kevin Deselms. The Hollywood film-editor-turned-Colorado-Realtor, says this gives his clients unreasonable expectations for timelines. For example, on House Hunters which has been publicly called out for misleading viewers, prospective buyers only view three houses. That and a lot of editing is how home purchases happen in less than 30 minutes. (TLC’s hit show Trading Spaces practically invented the 48-hour room transformation, but the show also caught a lot of flak for leaving homeowners with things like shoddy work, wet paint, and unfinished flooring.)
Negotiations don’t typically go down in coffee shops
“I wish clients would stop watching HGTV so I can stop explaining that negotiations occur over a couple of days through emails, not on the phone in a coffee shop,” says Evan Roberts, a real estate agent and founder of Dependable Homebuyers. The typical televised scenario that takes a matter of seconds (there is no such thing as phone tag on TV) is very misleading, he says. “Buyers should expect that the sellers are busy living their lives as well.”
Obtaining permits requires way more patience
Jeffrey A. Hensel at North Coast Financial, Inc. has been providing a fix and flip loans to real estate investors looking for quick profits. For years, he’s had to preach the virtue of patience to these same clients. HGTV shows sometimes discuss the need for permits, but they don’t often show how this process can slow down the entire project, says Hensel. According to him, waiting for approval to move forward can easily increase the remodel time (and the budget) by 50 percent.
Producers create unnecessary drama
Do most shoppers wear GoPros when looking for window treatments or measuring hardware for their cabinets? No. That’s probably because they know friends, family and even themselves, would fall asleep watching those videos.
“Clients who are HGTV fans typically expect the same excitement, surprises, and flair that they see on TV,” says Sacha Ferrandi. But according to the CEO of Source Capital Funding, Inc., which finances a lot of home renovations, it’s important for professionals to ease clients minds and limit all that drama for the sake of both parties. In real life, where you have to work on top of managing your home renovation or house hunt, the less stress, the better.
Real estate can ruin relationships
The fastest way to end up divorced other than having an affair is to renovate, swears Lappin. You will not be smiling like Chip and Joanna, drinking lemonade with chocolate chip cookies. You will be pulling each other’s hair out like the ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey.
Sellers don’t care about your renovation budget. They care about the comps in the neighborhood.
“The worst precedent set by HGTV is in their show ‘Property Brothers,’ where the agent frequently tells buyers that they should make an offer significantly below list price to account for their desired renovation budget, says Jeff Miller, a Maryland-based real estate agent with AE HomeGroup. The truth is, the only thing that matters is what other homes in the neighborhood have sold for.
Most viewers already know this, and several articles including this Twitter rant recap have been written about it. After all, it doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that most Americans don’t have $1 million laying around for a second home, and the kind of kitchen a $5,000 renovation gets you won’t include granite countertops and a smart fridge that sends its inventory to your phone. For more practical numbers, Gwyn Donohue, Executive Director of the National Association of Home Builders, recommends watching Todays Homeowner with Danny Lipford.
Bigger renovations don’t always equal bigger ROIs
“HGTV shows like to feature flips with full kitchen and bath remodels because the before-and-after shots make for more compelling viewing, says Bobby Montagne, CEO of Walnut Street Finance, who also counts himself a fan of This Old House because it’s more slowly-paced. In fact, aspiring fix-and-flippers are often better off doing small-scale renovations that just need carpet, paint and some freshening up, especially for their first projects. Montagne says smaller budgets, less room for error, and less time on the job often equal the ROI winning combination.
So how does having termite effect a fixer upper
Well, with homes in Southern California, Pasadena Pest Control service is mandatory for preservation. It is common to have property owners not have a property inspection for 30 years or more. I have visited a property where there has not been an inspection since it was bought. That when their parents purchased the vintage historical property.
How to prevent overpaying from house sellers neglects
The laws favor sellers. A seller does not have to perform a pest control inspection report for a sales tractions. Yes, it optional now. While buyers are complacent with the seller credits given to the buyer at close.
Once given the check from your recent home purchase. There is no thought of what going to be involved with the termites and the amount of time that is needed to resolve the termite issues not to mention the undermined cost factors. The delayed maintenance services from the previous seller usually cost more than the credit left at a close.
To prevent being underpaid cost, “buyers beware”. You must get a termite property (WDO) Wood Destroying Organism Report. This is a Section I and II property sales inspection report. The ranges to $250 to $300. This is a small price to the undisclosed thousand that a new buyer will soon be faced with.