Does having a history of termites hurt the resale value of my home?

A reader e-mailed in this question:

"I'm about to buy a house, and I have a good price on it, but one of the disclosures by the seller is that in the 70's there were termites found in part of the garage. They treated them and there have been inspections and no termites found since then. Does this affect the value of the property? Will it cost me if I try to sell it in a few years?"

If there are no termites currently on the property, and there is no structural damage, you are likely going to be fine as far as value goes. That infestation was long enough ago that, if there haven't been any infestations since, it's not going to permanently put a black mark on your property that will hurt you in selling it. Given that history, though, if you but it I would get it inspected at least once every year and a half or so. It takes a long time for termite colonies to actually get to the point where they can do real damage to the home. Make sure before buying it that there is a professional inspection to assess whether the structure is still intact and what level of damage the previous colony did to the garage. At this point, you can still ask the seller to make any necessary repairs prior to the sale (or at least to include compensation for whatever it would cost you).

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