Bought a house with undisclosed termite infestation and damage and am now finding signs of cover up.

Submitted by roughchoppedendgrain t3_ycqong in Pennsylvania

Ok so I bought a house in April, first day moving in and there was evidence of pest problem (lots of mouse poop) in the kitchen cupboards, and behind some of the cabinets that we agreed they can leave. The poop was very dry so i just cleaned it all up and brushed it off as an old problem. The basement also had signs of rodent issues which was hidden by the owners belongings at the time of inspection.

Forward to May, there was a termite swarm on one of the kitchen windows, inside the house. After closer inspection, there was evident sign of long term termite damage. Old wooden window frames, felt soft and hollow in spots, even worse on the outside... checking that whole side of the house, there is termite damage in all the window frames, and even in the walls of the addition to the house.

Our home inspector did not find any termite damage at the time of inspection. We paid for the termite inspection too.

So following week I get Orkin over to do treatment cause it seemed like the right thing to do. They did the treatment, no sign of a living colony now. But the damage is done. The home inspection company paid for Orkin to do treatment. I accepted the situation and decided to get repairs done next year as the main house is made of stone, and is structurally sound, but there is an timber frame addition that has termite damage too.

Orkin said that the termites have probably been around for at least a few years...

Now I'm noticing that there are signs of cover up. Cracks are forming everywhere around the house where it looks like it was painted fresh. There are soft spots becoming apparent and there are little holes that have been painted over that look really fishy.

I'm in a terrible state about buying this house, and I wanna know if I can do anything legally in PA. I asked a lawyer and they just said "you need to find proof." I spoke to the sellers agent and they said they had no idea and it wasnt disclosed. But I know the sellers knew and I want justice.

Has anyone ever had something like this happen before? Did you get any legal help? And what was the outcome.

Thanks, and sorry for the wall of text.

EDIT: Thanks for the insightful responses, I think I should clarify on 1 paragraph that the inspection company wrote me a check for treatment by Orkin, not remediation. At the time I should have got in contact with a lawyer instead of taking their money and signing their clause that they arent responsible for any further issues. BIG MISTAKE on my part I think but I was so flustered with everything I just took the money.

The termites are gone but the damage is there.

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HighPitchEricsBelly t1_itptsia wrote

I feel for you, sounds like the covered it up but you're gonna need proof to win in court. A new paint job won't do it. I think you might be taking this one on the chin unfortunately. I got screwed on a faulty septic that the sellers knew about but I couldn't prove it. $13,000 later...I could flush again.

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petefromeastpete t1_itpu097 wrote

In addition to talking to the lawyer (and even getting a second legal opinion), I’d also talk to your Realtor and your home inspector. Even though they’re unlikely to be able to do anything, you might even want to call the title insurance company just to ask if they can be involved at all.

Where did you find the inspector who handled the termite inspection?

I don’t have firsthand knowledge of this, but I imagine if you were able to find a pest treatment company that had a history of coming out, that might count as proof for the lawyer. What did the lawyer you talked to say they could use to prove that there was an attempt to cover it up?

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_itpud3z wrote

Just my humble opinion:

Lots of owners aren’t as smart as you are about evidence of termites.

Lots of owners put a coat of fresh paint on to dress up a property for sale.

The one responsible, in my opinion, is the expert home inspector who I would think has insurance for this type of situation (legal claim against their inspection).

Go that route.

Proving seller knew might be impossible. Fresh paint isn’t proof of knowledge. Let that go. It will eat at you worse than the termites.

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tyrael459 t1_itpy323 wrote

I would think this could be an issue with your home inspector, actually. They should have some kind of insurance for things they honestly miss. That’s what you hire them for, after all.

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petefromeastpete t1_itpz85x wrote

Replying to Unique-Public-8594 (#217,958)

You’ve got a really good point. What’s the saying, “Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to stupidity?” It is definitely plausible that the previous owners did not realize there was a problem, painted to make it look nice to sell, and did not intend to deceive OP. For that matter, I suppose it’s possible this happened with the owner before them, and they never even knew. OP should definitely investigate this from a legal aspect, but if they don’t get satisfaction they can’t let this eat at them for the next 30 years.

I really appreciate your perspective on this.

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Dispatcher12 t1_itq3tf3 wrote

Yep, the home inspector carries Errors and Omissions insurance for just this kind of thing. They could be on the hook for mitigation.

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worstatit t1_itqrvq5 wrote

I'll chime in with others, whether or not the seller knew, you paid for a home inspection, apparently with a specific clause for termites and their damage? This shouldn't be something that can be covered up in the eyes of a competent inspector. Especially if the inspector was recommended by a real estate agent, rather than hired by you, they should be held fully responsible. These people will gloss over faults in order to get repeat business from the agents. The fact they already paid for remediation is telling.

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