In the northern parts of Australia they can literally eat the house away.
I put a offer in on a house for which the owner supplied a pest report, the report looked a bit iffy so I had another report done by people who I have used before and the report showed that the house was unsound, about half of the wall studs were basically eaten away at least 30% of the roof timbers were eaten through plus various windows and interior trim etc. Outside was the same with fences, trees and out buildings all affected
I went back to the agent and made an offer for the land which they did not accept. I contacted the Council and mentioned that it was structurally unsafe due to the amount of damage and they were not interested.
I found out later the agents were aware of the damage prior to showing it to me but apart from making the pest report available did nothing and said nothing
They ultimately sold the house for just under the asking price so someone bought all the trouble and did not know. The house had been on the market for a long time prior to my interest so how many of them had done a pest report, for the pest companies it was a cash cow.
I spoke to one couple who after being in their first home for 6 months said that they laid in bed at night listening to the termites eating it away. It was so bad that it had to be demolished. Their first dream home became their worst nightmare
Vendors should be required to supply a report from a government approved company prior to any auction
A pest inspection is not a guarantee that there is nothing wrong but it is essential that you have one done by a top company and not the cheapest prior to any purchase.
The problem is not as bad in the southern states but it still exists
