A couple of questions about a house I'm trying to purchase?

IDK about the termites, however it sounds to me that several possibilities, either were done, or not done.

1) Is the wiring that the inspector is talking about copper or aluminum?

Copper?

Water could cause this, as so could loose connections. This will actually burn up the wire, but, if the conditions are right, could oxide.

More than likely the wiring he (she) is talking about is aluminum. This wire is BAD for oxidizing. It has been code for awhile that ANY aluminum wiring has to have a "gloop" of a "Anti-oxidizing agent", such as "No-Lox".

http://www.idealindustries.com/products/wire_insta...

You also didn't say if it was the service feeder or a branch wire. Using aluminum as a branch wire is only acceptable (today's standards) when it feeds a whole house AC unit, Stove, or a whole house heat unit.

Hope this helps.Good luck in all you do and may God bless.

I don't know what the contractor/ builder did, let a drip loop drip into the panel?? Sounds crazy. But I'm sure they can do it. If it is wet in there, or a leak, no wonder you have termites, they love wet wood. We built a house once for a guy by the name of Zimmer, He used to build custom vans in Boca Raton, Anyway, We were not the contractors, we were the trim carpenters, and his house was real nice, REAL NICE. Anyway, he called us back to replace some base board that had got eaten by termites, We couldn't believe it. The base was all paint grade Poplar, like 6" high, real fancy, nothing left but a shell of paint, all the wood was gone! We bought another 1,000 LF of base to go through that whole house, The mill work charges you for the 1,000 no matter what so we bought the minimum. Zimmer freaked about that. But he really freaked when the State Entomologist from Miami came in and could not believe his eyes. The bug guy sprayed some poison down the the pipes where all the electrical stuff was under the panel, and the bugs came out of there like oil, millions of them. The guy from the state said, you built your house on a mound that could be a thousand feet deep and you will never get rid of them. I don't what happened, but we got out of there in a hurry, hate to see a grown man cry. Just thought I'd let you know, termites will eat concrete.

Well, you'll have to confirm with your agent as far as your province's (or state, if you're American) rules for conditional offers. However, here in Ontario and Quebec, based off of the information in your inspector's report, you should have enough to allow for an extension on your conditions (in case the deadline is near). Bring in an exterminator for an estimate on removal of the termites, and then, perhaps a contractor to estimate the cost of the repairs to the damage (if any) caused by the termites. As for the wiring, oxidation of copper wires would likely be caused by galvanic corrosion. It's unlikely for copper, but often seen with aluminum wiring. However, it can happen with copper wiring, such as if you have copper conductors conducted to an aluminum fixture, or if you have a copper wire connected to an aluminum wire without the proper type of Merette. Either way, bring in an electrician for a formal estimate on replacing the damaged wires, and/or replacing the panel if he deems it necessary.

Once you have the estimates, simply negotiate the amount off the purchase price. The sellers may offer to have the repairs done themselves, however I normally advise against this, as you never know who they'll hire. If that is the case, make sure to get all receipts and warranty paperwork (if applicable) for the work done. Also, most inspectors (such as myself), will be more than happy to come back afterwards and re-check the repairs (no, we don't charge for this). Sounds like you have a decent inspector, so I don't see why he/she wouldn't.

If you have an uncooperative seller, who won't cooperate for the additional inspections (for the estimates), than you can always talk to your inspector, who'll be able to give you a rough idea as to what you'd be looking at (cost-wise) to address these issues. Then you can try and re-negotiate based off that, however this can sometimes be difficult without formal estimates, and can be a bit of a gamble. Alternatively, the house may have enough of an issue(s) to be able to get your deposit back and pull out of the deal. Again, this is all depending on your province's regs. Worst case scenario, if you're in a bidding war, and you really want the house, you can bite the bullet and remove the conditions (buy the house as-is), but again, this can be a gamble.

Hope this helps.

If I were buying the house, I would hold off until the problems are fixed. Neither one sound very good. Have you talked to you real estate agent?

Why didn't you ask him when he was there? That's the purpose of an inspector.

No one, sitting here, can even begin to give you the proper answer.