Serious warning from Gold Coast couple facing financial ruin after unknown termite infestation

A Gold Coast Coast couple who unknowingly bought a termite-infested home in Elanora and are now facing financial ruin have a heartbreaking warning for fellow homebuyers.

A GOLD Coast couple who unknowingly bought a termite-infested home in Elanora and are now facing financial ruin have a heartbreaking warning for fellow homebuyers.

“Be extremely careful if you’re buying a house to ensure the pest and building inspection you get is an independent one. If we were to have our time again we would also get two separate inspections,” said pregnant mother-of-two Sera Sarson.

Her warning comes as a pest and building inspector reveals the Gold Coast is now a termite “hot spot”, with one-in-three homes likely to be attacked by the pests.

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Gold Coast young homebuyers Sera and Shaun Sarson with daughter Aisla, 3, and son Rio, 2. Their newly purchased property in Elanoa was infested with termites and now it’s likely it has to be demolished. Photo: Jerad Williams.

Mrs Sarson and her husband Daniel bought their “dream home” late last year, but after a few months things started to go horribly wrong. Termites were discovered in the bathroom.

A FIFO wife at the time, and with a two and three-year-old, Mrs Sarson contacted Complete Termite Solutions for help.

“He said he’s never seen anything like that come out of the grout, so I started baiting them straight away for three to four months to get them out,” she said.

“Then in January we had a big flood affect the granny flat downstairs and as part of the insurance process they had to replace the walls.”

But as builders pulled apart walls they discovered that almost every beam was eaten away.

“It just got worse and worse, the more we opened up the granny flat we realised that every wall in our house was termite infested and destroyed.

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A Gold Coast couple bought a house in Elanora but later found out it was largely infested by termites and likely needs to be demolished. The couple, Sera and Shaun Sarson, now have to rent a house nearby for the safety of themselves and their children Aisla, 3, and Rio, 2, pictured here in the bathroom where a nest was found. Picture: Jerad Williams

“Even the beams holding up our ceiling were riddled with termites. And to think we had lived there for months with our two little children and I am pregnant, it could have fallen at any time.”

Mrs Sarson said the couple had done their homework and engaged a company to carry out the pre-purchase termite inspection; it gave the all clear to proceed with the sale.

“Our life savings are gone and we’re still paying a mortgage for a house we no longer have and we’ll be paying this for the next 30 years,” she said.

“My husband lost his job through COVID and now he starts at 5am and is home at 4pm and then all we do is paperwork, chasing people for money.”

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This house in Elanora was so riddle with termites that pest inspectors fear it must be demolished. Picture: Jerad Williams.

To add insult to injury, the couple are forking out thousands to rent another home in anticipation of the arrival of their third child in January. They are also in the process of considering their legal options.

Complete Termite Solutions managing director Daniel Golin said the property should not have passed a pre-purchase termite inspection.

“We have eradicated the termites in their home and recently started pulling off wall sheeting to investigate the extent of the damage. There’s damage to both levels of the house and the roof and I estimate it’s been like that for years,” he said.

“Sadly for this lovely young couple, this house is unsafe and should be demolished and rebuilt.”

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Managing director of Complete Termite Solutions Daniel Golin said an Elanora property purchased by a young Gold Coast couple was infested with termites. Picture: Jerad Williams

His advice to homebuyers is do their research on a reputable pest inspection and always seek an inspection independent from the one recommended by a real estate agent.

Mr Golin said every year he wrote off about five termite-infested houses across the Gold Coast and every day visited homes with active termites.

“Right now the Gold Coast is a hot spot for termite infestations because the seasons are changing and we’re having milder winters. In humid conditions the metabolism of termites go right up.”

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Almost every wall in this Elanora home has been infested by termites. Picture: Jerad Williams

“People don’t want to spend the $200 having an inspection, but it’s nothing compared to spending $10,000, the minimum it usually costs to fix minor damage.

“But in some cases, such as the Sarsons, the rebuild cost is about $450,000. It could be the best $200 you spend.”

Mr Golin said termites thrived in moisture and needed water to move through houses to get to their food source, timber frames, so warned homeowners to keep an eye out for drainage issues, leaking showers and drainpipes, and a lack of ventilation around buildings.