As a 55 year old Native(yes, we do exist) of Marion County and a 15+ year REALTOR I will share my opinion. If I purchased a home that already had a termite bond on it, I would definitely keep it up if the yearly cost was say $250 or less.
Yes, it is true that the property has to be treated for termites on all new construction. However, there is no definite way of knowing if it was properly treated with enough product. Being in the industry I have heard stories of termite companies that will dilute their product down or just not apply as much product as really needed in order to make more money. It is impossible for a building inspector to be able to determine Exactly how much product was used.
Yes, it also true that you Probably will not have any termite issues in the first 5 years. But do you want to possibly risk an investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars to save a few hundred? I have personally seen multiple times where subterranean termites enter from underground through a crack in your slab, get into the interior walls and eat up a lot of the interior framing before you ever know they are there. Unless you go digging in the ground looking for them you usually never see subterranean termite until the swarm, which is usually like Feb. to April depending on the temperature.
With all that being said I would also prefer a company that treats the property instead of using a bating system. The baiting system I am familiar with was called Sentricon. I heard many mixed reviews from both homeowner's and termite technicians.
|