termite costs, any tips?

Question

I used to get termites done for about $800 and then a contract would be 400-500 a year. I got a few quotes recently and they are at $2000 and $2500. I'm not sure what happened or why it got so expensive. I don't have some huge termite issue, just a small amount of termites and no major damage. My house value has gone up a lot and the place is nicely renovated, I am thinking maybe the termite guys are just thinking Im super rich and I dont care what they charge. Can anyone here recommend a way to get termite service done at a reasonable price? I aint gonna pay these guys 2K to do a minor job. It's a 3000 SF house in Hollywood Hills.

Thomas M. · Answer

Update- I got someone to do the job for $575. I think that's fair. The moral of the story is do NOT use Yelp to find repair guys. All the estimates I got from people found on yelp were around $2500. With Homeadvisor/Angies list I was able to tell the guy up front "Hey, this is what the average price is for this" and he did come in with a price in that ballpark.

Thomas M. · Answer

I tried Angies List, got a barrage of phone calls and texts from that. Most of them are coming from something called HomeAdvisor. I guess its the same company. Inspection is happening Friday. The HomeAdvisor site has an estimate tool that gives you a rough idea of what these things cost in your zip code. For me it says average cost is $538.

I sometimes ask for costs up front but they always say they have to see it first.

This time I told the guy the HA estimate and that if he's gonna go way over he should cancel in advance.

Aaron K. · Answer

@Thomas M. I don't do ongoing termite service, but I highly suggest that you call and ask for pricing before giving an address.  Because yes they think you don't care what things cost when you tell them it is a 3000 sqft home in the Hollywood Hills.