Termite tragedy for one Waikato family

爱国爱港

http://www.3news.co.nz/Termite-tragedy-for-one-Waikato-family/tabid/817/articleID/333979/Default.aspx

A Waikato family faces bankruptcy after discovering their new home it is infested with termites.
A building report made no mention of the infestation, but the couple has been told their house is uninhabitable and will have to be destroyed.

First home buyers Tobi Lawton and Sarah Lee thought that they had found their dream home.
It is considered the worst termite infestation ever seen in a New Zealand home and it was only discovered by chance.

"[When I was] vacuuming the floors, I noticed there was a lot of dust, so I pulled back the wallpaper and I couldn't quite figure out what it was," says Mr Lawton.

As he pulled back more of the wallpaper, Mr Lawton realised he was unravelling an enormous problem.

The wood holding up the walls of his house was collapsing in front of his eyes, a home they had only moved into in December.
After years of searching, the first home-buyers had been excited to find something they could afford - something they could do up - something that could grow with their young family.

As part of their sale and purchase agreement, the couple put in a clause for a building inspection. Stretching themselves to come up with the deposit, they were grateful when their real estate agent offered them one from the vendor.

"We obviously had a lot of money to spend on the house and we thought if we could save $500 or $700 and there was a perfectly fine looking report there."

"We went online and looked at the company. You wouldn't find anyone in Te Aroha that could do the same sort of report that we were led to believe that this report was covering."

The 17-page report showed pictures and notes from around the house, in the roof space, and under the floor.
"I'd never bought a house before, seen a report before, and when the agent offered a report, I thought great we'll have a look at it."

There were a few damp spots, but otherwise nothing extraordinary, no mention of any insect damage. So imagine Mr Lawtons surprise when he found termite damage in every piece of framing he looked at.

It was a chance conversation which lead the couple to discover the problems had been known about their house for years.

They were shocked to hear from a neighbour that he'd clearly noticed the damage when he'd been asked to replace some of the wood around the windows and doors some years ago.

But the most astounding discovery was yet to come, when Mr Lawton went under the house.

Photos from the building report showed white marks on some of the beams under the floorboards, yet there was no mention of what it was.

When Mr Lawton went to investigate, he was horrified at what he saw. At some point in the past, a pest control expert has been through this house and recognised the termite infestation.

There is no mention, at all, in the report of any insect damage - even though Mr Lawton then realised he could see the pest control markings in the photos.

The devastated couple went back to their agent - Wayne Heron from Century 21 Real Estate.
"Everyone's just run for cover…no one is putting their hand up to admit liability."

Campbell Live approached Mr Heron at Century 21, but he refused our request for an interview.
So they went back to the vendor, Lyle Tresadern, who sold the house for his deceased mother.
"The response from the vendor was basically 'we have sympathy for you in this situation but please leave us alone.'"

Century 21 head office referred our reporter back to the Te Aroha office.

Geoff Barnett from Century 21 told Campbell Live that Century 21 New Zealand is not the company that had any dealings with these people.

"All our franchises are independently owned and operated."
Mr Lawton and Ms Lee can't get any answers either.

Campbell Live approached Lyle Tresadern, the man who sold the house, and the man who commissioned the report. He says it was not a building report.

When Campbell Live asked Mr Tresadern whether this could have been recognised as a building report, he stated that for him, it was a report for dampness, but whether or not it is taken as a building report was not for him to decide.

Campbell Live understands Mr Tresadern found Inred, a thermal imaging service, on the internet and after receiving the report handed it over to Century 21, as a full and complete building inspection.
It even says, on page two - building inspection.

So what about Inred, the company that did the report?

Campbell Live tried on several occasions to contact Mark Armstrong, the man who wrote the report from Inred. He won't return calls and the addresses he lists for his company are no longer current.
However, he did finally email reporter Anna Burns-Francis today to say he'll never discuss the report, because, he says, it should never have been made public.

We did manage to talk to Mr Armstrong's daughter - she answers the phone for Inred. Hayley Muliaina, the estranged wife of Mils Muliaina, who endorses Inred on its website.
She denies there's anything wrong with the report.

"It uses those words, it covers those matters," says building report expert Philip O'Sullivan. "It's not [the most] normal building report I've seen, but I think the general public would regard it as a building report."

Not only is Mr O'Sullivan concerned about the over-reliance on thermal imaging, he's concerned about the lack of detail.
"Quite clearly in my view, it has to cover all aspects [such as] insect attack. It's an older home and it's common with native timber."

The Ministry of Primary Industries confirmed to Ms Lee it was the worst infestation they'd ever seen.

The solution is to demolish and rebuild, but Mr Lawton and Ms Lee are mortgaged to the hilt. They can't afford to replace all the affected wood, they can't afford to rebuild, and they can't afford to pay their lawyer.

The couple are struggling to keep going with this battle; it has been like this for two months, and they are far too stressed, which is affecting their work, their relationship and their children.

"It's like you're in limbo - you can't live until you find out what's going to happen."

The couple are considering declaring bankruptcy, which is not the future they wanted and it's not the future they planned.

But it's the future they face.

The Campbell Live team want to go into bat for the Lawtons. Given the so-called building report was given them to be the Century 21 agent, Campbell Live think they've been really hard done by.

They have set up an account with Givealittle to help them with the cost of demolishing and rebuilding a new home.

If you'd like to donate, follow the link below:
http://www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/helptobiandsarah
Campbell Live

NewLynnHse

As part of their sale and purchase agreement, the couple put in a clause for a building inspection. Stretching themselves to come up with the deposit, they were grateful when their real estate agent offered them one from the vendor.

Myminimuffin

一般如果卖家主动OFFER BUILDING REPORT的话99%的几率这个房子有问题！

onetreehill1

Myminimuffin 发表于 2014-2-28 09:30
一般如果卖家主动OFFER BUILDING REPORT的话99%的几率这个房子有问题！

恩，这个就叫“此地无银三百两”

X_X

Myminimuffin 发表于 2014-2-28 09:30
一般如果卖家主动OFFER BUILDING REPORT的话99%的几率这个房子有问题！

不能一概而论吧

Myminimuffin

X_X 发表于 2014-2-28 08:42
不能一概而论吧

所以是99%嘛！

NewLynnHse

X_X 发表于 2014-2-28 09:42
不能一概而论吧

0.9999999概而论吧

红玫瑰和白玫瑰

不是说这里没有白蚁吗？

bungyjumping999

see how much money Campbell live will raise money for them?

X_X

NewLynnHse 发表于 2014-2-28 10:15
0.9999999概而论吧

噢s***！
我还想将来卖房的时候给广大买家提供builders report呢，幸亏只是想想而已。。
毕竟要卖的房现在还没有买上手

一曰方茗

X_X 发表于 2014-2-28 16:31
噢s***！
我还想将来卖房的时候给广大买家提供builders report呢，幸亏只是想想而已。。
毕竟要卖的房现 ...

哈哈 还没买到就想着卖的时候要提供builders report? 你想的好远啊

红玫瑰和白玫瑰

bungyjumping999 发表于 2014-2-28 13:33
see how much money Campbell live will raise money for them?

So far, 115k, I am astounded

winny

爱国爱港

onetreehill1 发表于 2014-2-28 09:39
恩，这个就叫“此地无银三百两”

洋人不懂“Such earth no silver three hundred liang”

爱国爱港

红玫瑰和白玫瑰 发表于 2014-2-28 13:07
不是说这里没有白蚁吗？

我也以为没有

stonecold

唉，好可怜啊，给人捐点钱吧

bigwater

得把害人精除掉。