Thread: termites...

Your chances of getting money out of the seller will depend on whether the seller has any money to get, if they are accessible and the ability of your attorney.

Ah...termites...a tricky thing to deal with in a real estate transaction. Were you represented by a licensed real estate agent? Was the seller represented by a licensed real estate agent? Are you in the United States?

1. It's comical that the termite companies come in after one another and they all play the same game. I assure you, it is most likely that your "discovering" termite guy does the same kind of quick and dirty termite letters that the previous guy did. The only thing that makes this trip different is that he'll get to collect a termite treatment from you to get rid of active termites, if any. The reason why they don't really try hard to find termites in the sale of the home is because they don't want to be the deal killer, and they know that that bogus piece of crap termite letter with all of the CYA's in it (i.e. unable to look behind walls, floors, etc.) won't count against them in a court of law. Unfortunately, that's how the game is played.

I'm surprised your agent didn't give you a good schooling on that. And don't get me started on going deeper with my personal experiences with termite companies --> would you believe that the very organization that "polices" them (the State Department of Agriculture) actually takes donations from termite companies? Your Agriculture commissioner has a list of termite companies that donates a maximum amount of money yearly to his campaign. Do you really think they are going to slap a fine on them or treat them badly when the termite companies are the ones who are keeping them in office with their campaign contributions? Just for fun, visit your state's department of agriculture website and look for the campaign contributions list. Look for the biggest contributing termite companies and those are *usually* the low life's with much to hide. They pay for their protection! Don't waste your time with SDA. State Department Agriculture commissioners are a bunch of self serving slime balls.

2. It matters little that the seller didn't mention that the home had been treated in the property disclosure. Treatment is often done as a preventative measure so even if he recalled that fact, he's going to claim that he had it treated a long time ago in an effort to ward off *potential* termites. This does not constitute fraud, negligence, nor gross negligence. Your mediator and/or attorney is going to be looking for the likelihood of fraud (that's where the money is). No proof of fraud - no luck for you.

You'll only get money out of the seller if there's money to get. You're in a really bad spot, Nate. Aside from finding fraud, I hate to say it, but if both buyer and seller were represented by licensed agents, see what you can get from the real estate commission. You're in dire need of a real estate attorney. I'd at least get consultation *before* going to mediation. You may be signing away your rights in mediation.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi Nate,
It's real unforunate that you have found termites in your home they do leave trails to find them but since you had an inspection from a professional (I hope) and they didn't find any trails or didn't mention it in their report you may have signed a document removing that as an issue, your recourse may only be in fixing the problem your self and learn from the experience it is an older home so that may not be the only problem you may find in years to come especialy if you plan to do any remodling .

I do not, however, agree with mr1 in that you could go after the Realtors, they are not Lic. inspectors and you may want to read your contract over because in most Real Estate contacts it states in the body of the contact that are not inspectors and you may be wasting your time and the mediator time.

Lots of luck in your venture, Dale

Originally Posted by Dale

Hi Nate,
I do not, however, agree with mr1 in that you could go after the Realtors, they are not Lic. inspectors and you may want to read your contract over because in most Real Estate contacts it states in the body of the contact that are not inspectors and you may be wasting your time and the mediator time.

I didn't say Realtors were licensed inspectors, but that does not mean neither agent was negligent, now does it? Do you know if the buyer was under BBA, and if so, did the buyer's agent refer the termite company without any other options? A savvy attorney would pick your transaction apart and if one of those agents were liable in any way, then they'd need to pony up.

Here's a tip that may help, but your real estate attorney should already know this:

Education Research, and Recovery Fund The ERRF is designed primarily as a self insurance program.
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Originally Posted by mr1

The reason why they don't really try hard to find termites in the sale of the home is because they don't want to be the deal killer, and they know that that bogus piece of crap termite letter with all of the CYA's in it (i.e. unable to look behind walls, floors, etc.) won't count against them in a court of law. Unfortunately, that's how the game is played.

Sound like you need to find some new termite inspectors. Ours find termites on a regular basis.

Originally Posted by Greg

Sound like you need to find some new termite inspectors. Ours find termites on a regular basis.

Greg, I don't think you get it yet. It depends on who ordered the termite letter. In my state, they switched it from the seller to the buyer (the way it used to be was retarded). Until recently, the seller let the listing agent order the termite letter from his company of choice (although ethics says that he should provide a list for the client to choose from). The listing agent calls his good old boy network termite guy, the same guy he's been doing business with for years, to inspect his *sellers* home and provide a termite letter. It's an unspoken arrangement. The termite company, if they want to continue doing termite letters for this agent, does a "quick and dirty" letter so as not to kill the deal. Get it now?

First of all, I don't play that way, but I know agents who have. Secondly, I've always made sure that when I'm on the buying end of the transaction that I have my buyer choose and pay for his own termite inspection on top of the sellers requested termite inspection. But since they changed who was responsible for ordering the termite letter, it falls on the buyer now. I'm sure they changed that rule in my state because of situations just like the original poster has experienced.

This situation can be avoided from the very beginning,if you just visited the house personally. You have the chance to get back certain amount of money if proven that the seller commits mistake in mentioning the real status of the house. This is through the legal documentations. Hope you have them.

Termite inspection is really an important process which home buyer should always consider before buying a home or getting it on lease. In my opinion, not only are termite inspections important to home maintenance, they also are a critical step in the home buying process.