Selling a house with failing stumps

The situation this page is about

A property goes under contract. The buyer arranges a building and pest inspection during the inspection period. The report comes back flagging deteriorated stumps, subfloor movement, or termite damage to structural timber. Now there is a contract with dates on it, two parties with opposing interests, and nobody with a number.

This is one of the most common ways people end up looking for a restumper in a hurry. It is worth understanding what is actually needed, because the instinct to either panic or dismiss it both cost money.

What a building and pest report does and does not do

Inspectors report what they observe and they are appropriately cautious. A report will describe evidence of movement, deterioration or damage and recommend further investigation by an appropriate trade. What it will not usually do is quantify the work or price it.

That gap is where deals stall. A buyer reads "significant subfloor deterioration, further investigation recommended" and imagines a very large number. A seller reads the same line and thinks it is being overstated. Neither has evidence.

The thing that resolves it is a scope from a licensed builder: how many stumps, what material, what else is affected, and what it costs. That converts an open ended worry into a figure that can be split, deducted, or dealt with.

What to do, in order

1. Read the report properly, including the limitations section. Note whether the inspector actually entered the subfloor or reported from an access point, because that changes how much weight the findings carry.
2. If termites are mentioned, get a licensed pest inspector first. Whether activity is live is a separate question to whether timber is damaged, and it needs the pest discipline rather than a builder.
3. Get a builder's inspection and written quote quickly. Tell them you are under contract and give the date. Most contractors will prioritise a job with a deadline.
4. Establish the real extent. Stumps are often the visible part. Bearers and joists frequently come into it.
5. Take the quote to your solicitor or agent, and let the negotiation happen on the basis of a number rather than a fear.

Repair before settlement, or adjust the price

Both happen. Which is better depends on circumstances rather than principle, and the decision is one for you and your solicitor rather than a contractor.

Arguments for doing the work before settlement: the seller controls the contractor and the scope, the work gets documented properly with a contract and home warranty cover, and it removes the issue from the negotiation rather than leaving it hanging.

Arguments for a price adjustment instead: it is faster, it does not risk the settlement date, and the buyer gets to choose their own contractor and scope rather than inheriting someone else's decisions.

The practical risk with adjustments is that buyers typically discount an unknown by more than the actual cost of fixing it. Which is exactly why having a written quote in hand shifts the conversation in the seller's favour.

If you are the buyer

• Get your own scope and quote rather than relying on the seller's
• Ask whether any previous restumping was done, and if so ask for the contract, the licence details and the Notice of Cover. Home warranty cover attaches to the work and remaining cover can carry value to you
• Check whether any structural work on the property had the approvals it needed
• If termites are involved, treat the pest assessment and the structural assessment as two separate pieces of work
• Factor in that the work is disruptive but usually does not require vacating for a restump, unlike a raise

If you are the seller and there is time

Doing the work before listing rather than mid contract is almost always the better position, if the timeline allows.

You control the contractor and the scope. You are not negotiating under a deadline. The work gets a written contract, a QBCC licensed builder and home warranty cover, all of which you can show a buyer. And the property goes to market without a structural question mark that invites a discount larger than the repair.

What you should not do is anything cosmetic that obscures the condition. Beyond the practical fact that a competent inspector will find it, non disclosure of known defects in a sale is a legal question with real consequences, and it is one for your solicitor rather than for general information on a website.

Documentation is the asset

Whatever route you take, keep everything. The written contract, the licence number, the Notice of Cover, the engineering documentation if there was any, the approvals if the work required them, and photographs of the work in progress. That package is what turns "the stumps were done a few years ago" from a claim into a fact, and it carries value at every future sale.