Can I sell a house with bed bugs on Long Island?
Written and reviewed by Andrew Ragusa, Licensed Real Estate Broker and Broker of Record, REMI Realty LLC — 11+ years of transactions across Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens.
The short answer
A bed-bug infestation is one of the most feared problems a buyer can hear about. In my experience, owner-occupants and first-time buyers walk away immediately, and the buyer pool shrinks to investors looking to flip.
At 30 Columbine Lane in Kings Park, the whole house was covered. The remediation cost about $50,000. That included ripping open wood-panel walls, skim-coating sheetrock, re-sanding floors, and replacing rugs. In its infested, older state, the house was likely to sell for around $380,000 to $390,000, mostly to an investor.
After treatment by a Manhattan specialist with a six-month guarantee, the house listed on a Wednesday and had offers piling in by Monday. An offer was accepted by the following Wednesday. That was eight days on market. It sold for $795,000.
The seller disclosed the history on the Property Condition Disclosure Statement. Buyers received that form before making an offer. When they asked, they saw the treatment contract, the guarantee, and the construction record. Some buyers still withdrew. The emotional reaction was real even with full proof. The disclosure filtered the market, and the sale closed. The full construction story is documented in the Kings Park case study.