I couldn’t believe when I received a call from my client asking for help. Her house was falling apart because of termites. Sure, I was confused. I never heard of that before. As a Realtor, I have always had my buyers make termite inspections and make sure that the house is clear, of course. But that her house was falling apart?Well, it all started when they were sleeping one night and suddenly they heard a big bang. They thought someone had crashed outside their house. As they checked the outside to find that it was all quiet, they passed by their kitchen. That is when they were in awe as they saw that part of their ceiling had collapsed. Wow, what a scare and what a site. You can imagine how they felt at 5 am seeing the mess in the kitchen. The next day they called a friend of theirs that is in construction. When he saw what had happened, he advised them to get a termite inspection. Well, to make the long story short…..when the inspectors came to the house they found it was so infested with termites, their ceiling was collapsing ! Immediately they had to get someone to secure the ceiling while they could figure it out. Also immediately they came to inject the house to kill the termites.
What’s amazing is that we hear of tenting the houses in Florida, but rarely do we hear of these cases of subteranean termites. I would advise everyone to read on it and be aware of little ant like insects. If you see them, you better check what it is. It is amazing how quick they eat up your house and the trouble they can cause.
I was checking on this site to learn more about the various termites. Take a look: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG097 Really, don’t wait too long or else !! It seems they can eat one pound of wood a day! Just imagine how quick they can eat up your home. And all this is happening while you don’t even know they are there.
We think that because we live in great neighborhoods in Dade county or Broward county and the construction here doesn’t have as much wood, we are exempt? No we are not.
So now I am with my client rushing through Aventura, Sunny Isles, Bal Harbour and Hallandale looking for a rental for a year while their house will need a major renovation ! So if you are moving to South Florida, if you are buying a house, if you just bought a house , Don’t wait, take my advice and get a termite inspection and ask for the subterranean termites as well.