Seller never disclosed infestation

Colleen Walker

New Member
Jurisdiction
Alaska
We bought a triplex in March 2019 in Anchorage. The seller asked my husband and I not to tell the tenants we were buying the triplex. It was inspected and the necessary health and safety were fixed by seller. He did not disclose to my husband and I that the triplex was infested with cockroaches and mice. When we went in to remodel and fix, we started to notice things like duct tape along the gap of the wall and trimming inside pantry and he painted over the duct tape, same thing with the closet in the living area. When we pulled out the oven and refrigerator, there were little mice holes and mice poop on the floor under both. There was a lot of dead cockroaches in the gaps and duct tapes. The carpet smells very awful and I'm scared what I might find under it. Can we do a small claims against him? Our realtor is looking into the warranty and look into other things. The tenants also came forward after we introduced ourselves as new owners about mice, cockroaches, and bed bugs that the seller didn't do anything about for a long time. Please help! (Cell number deleted by one of your friendly, helpful, mods) Thank you!
 
You did not have your own inspection of the property done prior to purchase?
What warranty was offered with the inspection that was done?
Did you inspect the property yourself at any point? These sound like things you should have easily discovered and might have difficulty claiming you did not know about.
 
You did not have your own inspection of the property done prior to purchase?
What warranty was offered with the inspection that was done?
Did you inspect the property yourself at any point? These sound like things you should have easily discovered and might have difficulty claiming you did not know about.
It was inspected and yes there is a warranty. Inspector didn't report any of that to us.
 
I've reported your post because you've put a phone number in it. Good attorneys do not troll message boards looking for clients. Placing a phone number out on the Interwebs invites all sorts of crazy people.
 
The seller asked my husband and I not to tell the tenants we were buying the triplex

That's a red flag. I've owned rentals. Apparently you are newbies.

You should have personally inspected inside each unit and talked to the tenants about any problems.

If you think you are going to succeed owning a rental without getting in and getting your hands dirty, you have another think coming.

We hired HomeTeam Inspection Services.

Did you accompany the inspector when he inspected the property?

I think you made some costly amateur mistakes. You'll learn from experience how not to make them again. All landlords learn the hard way first time out.
 
All landlords learn the hard way first time out.


Eventually, many landlords learn to get out of the onerous, burdensome, troublesome; landlord business.

I sure as heck learned.

Been there, done that, never going back.

If you want to protect your investments, there are safer, easier investment vehicles.

Find investments that offer you a greater return on your investment at far less risk.
 
This place doesn't let you edit a post unless it's relatively soon after originally posted.
Ahh, I see. I rarely go back to edit except if I notice a spelling mistake right away or if something occurs to me right after I hit "Post Reply" (which happens quite frequently ;) )
 
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