A little bit incredibly angry and annoyed tonight, so perhaps if you are soft of nature it might be best to go away and come back tomorrow.
We have tall golden cane palms all along one side fence of our house, well over a metre from the house . They are as tall as our two storey house and we can lie in our bed and watch lorikeets and other birds play in the branches. The branches also shade out the light in the lane way that runs beside the house; in turn also providing privacy from anyone walking by. It is also the prettiest garden.
The Indian couple seeking to buy our house have requested a week’s extension before the contract goes unconditional. It was suppose to be unconditional today.
The reason? They are worried that in the future termites might be attracted to the palm trees and move onto the house for dessert. We have built in hard wood, we have special termite barriers, have undertaken inspections every year and have an extended warranty for another five years, so that if any termite damage is found, the termite pest control company will make repairs, even if it means rebuilding the house. Inspection this week proved the entire property is termite free.
They are worried that in the future termites might attack. They are Indians who have come to Australian from England and so have no experience of termites, and I understand that they are in a foreign environment, but there can be no better guarantee against termites than what we can provide.
It is very unusual for termites to attack living palm trees also. There have been some instances in far north Queensland, but not in this area. There is more danger of termites if they cut down the beautiful palms and leave dead stumps or roots.
So, I am feeling frustrated, thwarted and very,very angry. I would like to call for my stick. It will also break my heart if they demand the felling of such beautiful trees.
We shall not go easily into the night.
[On the other hand, the house we are buying has native bee hives in the garden (native bees do not sting, but do help pollinate local flowers )... oh and native white ant nests in some of the trees - not usually the house eating kind.We still intend buying the house.]
Tell them to stop shillyshallying or you’ll hit them with your largest stick.
Utter nonsense.
Native bee hives? Native honey?…..l
I have read that they can produce up to 1kg of sugarbag honey a year. How MR FD will source it from them we shall have to discover…
Call in a local pest inspection company *just for them* to do a report specifically on the property’s vulnerability to termites.
This is in addition to whatever is already in the packet.
Tell the inspector about your concerns vis a vis the trees, so that they address the lack of danger from them, and let him address it as he sees fit.
It won’t cost much, and might make you feel better.
More than that you cannot really do, because once you are gone the trees are on their own, no matter who moves in.
Sigh.
My aunt and uncle built a lovely arts & crafts style bungalow out in the Appalachian mountains, on land that had been paid to his ancestors for fighting in the American Revolution.
It had handmade Mexican tiles that they had bought on their travels, and lots of dark woodwork.
There was a creek, and an apple orchard, and a huge garden, ad horses and mountains.
When he died, and she sold it, the man who bought it started a pig farm.
We have called in the company that has the termite warranty on the property to discuss with them. ONE of the issues was that Mr Buyer was not available yesterday.
SIL suggested that we start a dog sitting kennel on our new property, why I have no idea, as we have only just bought our first dog and am not sure we should be trusted with it let alone other people’s pets, BUT can you imagine what the neighbours would think of that? How to not make friends and alienate people in one fell swoop!
After that warning I was expecting a really heavy rant. That was still very politely written.
I hope this family doesn’t pull out over something that they have no clue about. Even though I understand the protectiveness over the trees – if they want to live like in a shop window, I guess it’s their choice…?
Everyone is lucky that I didn’t do a podcast! Having a daughter who is a lawyer keeps some restraint on me…today may be another case.
Yes, once we leave we will not look back, but they had better not ask us to lower our price to pay to cut down the trees… the stick may go where the sun don’t shine as well.
I hate housework with a passion, and I feel the same way about cooking, but I hate selling a house even more. When I sold my townhouse, my buyers made me crazy, and their agent made me even crazier. But it did finally end.
One of the issues is that the original agent went on holidays and we have had a junior handling the sale and she plays with her phone whenever we are trying to have a conversation. A complaint will be made.
This is the last sale, the next move will be into an old Flamingo Dancer’s home and I will be so doddy that our children will have to handle the sale.
May the trees become infested with Indian Mynah birds. Ratty
Should we release some termites as we leave? I have lost my empathy and my evilosity is rising high.
YES!!!
You know, ANYTHING “might happen” at some point in the future. That’s the problem with living anywhere.
The house could always be struck by lightning…I don’t know know how long they will last in a country like Australia where the environment can be quite harsh at times.
Idiots. They don’t deserve such nice trees.
It is probably something that attracted people to the house in the first place, and all visitors to our house have always commented on how the garden makes the house so private and serene.
Once we are gone they can do whatever they want, but to hold up the sale on an imaginary possibility is too extreme.
Maybe I should point out some of the real issues that their reports missed when we leave!
Someone won’t buy our house because it doesn’t have a bath. He wanted us to take $10,000 off the price because of the problem – yeah right mate.
We had a house in the early 80s that just had a small corner bath under a shower. It was big enough to bath children but not for an adult. We ha issues selling that house, and it taught us never to buy something too different from the norm. He is obviously expecting you to pay for a whole new bathroom! The trend here is to come in with an offer 10% lower than the asking price. Market is very very slow in Qld.
I would love to have a bee hive but I’d quickly end up with bees in the house. But if I could get bees which do not sting? Oh, I’d be on that in a heartbeat!
What are white ants?
white ants are terminites
i thought they might be. eegads!
If they ask to fell the trees, don’t sell them the house..no seriously. You’ll find better and more sensible buyers.
I think we are slowly convincing them, but we won’t know officially for couple more days. Maddening.