Is ther any recourse when you buy a house that has termites, and has had a previous inspection?

Question

It has been 1.5 years since I bought, and the termite guy said they have been there at least 3-7 years.

Answer 1

Ouch! This needs to be dealt with very, very quickly.

How much damage does there appear to be? Termites can eat all the way through a joist or a stud and leave that piece not holding any weight.

You need to follow their trail to the very end since they can take a chunk out of anywhere. You may need to rip open some ceilings and or walls to follow their trail, but it is necessary to determine the total damage.

Who inspected the place when you bought it? Was there a specific certification for termite inspection or was it just part of the overall inspection? There certainly should be a specific termite inspection.

Gather all the paperwork and go to a lawyer. There is a slight chance that the inspector, or more likely his/her insurance company will pay, but you must assume the worst to protect your interests. There might be something in the inspection report that discusses what you can do if the report is wrong, but probably not.

Even if you don't hire the lawyer to represent you, you at least need an opinion of what the paperwork says. Often, just the fact that you have a lawyer makes a difference to a vendor or liability insurance company.

I would ask the inspector to pay for the treatment and for ALL damage that was found. That is reasonable because if he/she had found it, the seller would have paid for it. You have lost money because of their oversight. This includes damage that was done before you bought the place, no matter how old the damage is.

They may try to tell you that you would have had to pay anyway if they found them when you bought, but that is not true. Inspectors have liability insurance for this very reason.

He/she caused you a financial loss, don't let them worm their way out of it to be a nice guy. Also make sure the repair work is done satisfactorally. Some contractors will try to skimp, especially if an insurance company is hiring them; low bidder.

They need to replace anything that is damaged. It is NOT necessary to remove the damaged pieces if that is too much work. You tie the replacement into the old piece. This is often called "sistering." The old piece is not a threat once the termites are gone.

I would not have them (the termites) killed until the damage is documented, so time is of the essence. They are continuing to eat your house, so get this moving. You will need to prove that there are live ones so they don't say it was old damage.

You will also need to prove they are not brand new so you should get a couple more written opinions. Get those opinions in writing and make sure they say it clearly. If they are not clear, the insurance company will use that to try to get out of paying.

Answer 2

Your building inspector should have spotted this, but you might want to call around and find out if the previous owner had it inspected and failed to disclose it at time of sale. If so, you can sue them, and their realtor.

Answer 3

think your recourse would be a lawsuit against the inspector who inspected the house prior to you buying it, or if there was a previous exterminator... maybe him... Do your research first.

good luck