All Forum Posts by: Dan Marl

Step 1 is to stop the termite infestation. With dry wood termites, tenting is a common remedy. Some companies have thermal imaging equipment that can locate the nests in the walls. So localized treatment is a possibility. This termite issue needs to be dealt with ASAP.

As far as repairing the damage, once the termites are stopped, that can take place any time. Termites will often target baseboard trim, window trim, etc. because those woods are apparently more delectable to them... There may or may not be structural damage. If there is, it could be widespread or may be limited to just a few boards. Worry about that later, for now, stop the damage.

There is basically two parts to this problem, remediation and restoration. Remediation stops the damage from continuing and restoration restores the property back to pre-damage condition. The proper way to fix any problem is doing both. @Will Barnard gave a couple good tips for inexpensive repair. Even what appears to be cosmetic problems should be corrected to prevent intrusion from water or pests.

 This is not accurate. A full tent fumigation WILL kill everything in the structure. As to fixing the facia, that is easy, don’t hire the termite company for that, most job that out and mark it up a lot. Bondo patch and paint or cut out and replace will not cost you much at all. Then paint over the patch or new wood.

@Dan Marl I don’t think a tent will kill them as they are in the wood. What I did for a house was to get the baits and place them in the ground around the perimeter of the house. It attracts them to it and they die. Replace the baits as they are eaten. I buy the whole treatment system from Home Depot. Also, get any soul off of the foundation. This is where they enter.

First off, termites  can do massive damage. Get a pest control company in right away and kill them. Second they have probably done more damage than what you can see. Bottom line is take action right now as delaying this process will cost more money the longer you wait.

I hope the damage is minimal and good luck!

@Dan Marl - Did you get an inspection?   Do you have any concept of how extensive the damage really is?   Do you know what kind of termites they are?  Is it localized to just one area, or is it spread out all over?   

Fascia and soffit damage isn't a real concern unless it's letting water or pests in, but the real concern is how much damage they've done behind the walls and areas you can't see.   If they crawled their way up from the ground, they've had a lot of wood to eat up on the way up to the soffits.    If they are all over, it's not a localized problem that you'll be lucky to catch with the tenting.   

@Dan Marl there are so many pros and cons putting individual homes in LLC so definitely consult with an attorney. For me, properties in LLC is just more book keeping and you have to file a separate corporate return which is more money. You can increase your insurance policy and purchase umbrella policy if your concern is liability protection for putting it under LLC. However, if you do change it to a LLC make sure you add the LLC as the additional insured on your insurance policy if you are keeping insurance under your personal name.