Hello all,
I'm new to the forum, so please be patient with me!
My question is this: Do I have a case against the person who sold me my current (first) house if I can prove that she knowingly concealed a cockroach infestation?
Here's the (rather complex) background: The house was once owned by my real estate agent's adoptive father. (Also an agent who had invested her inheritance in property.) It was used as a rental and my agent never lived in it. She/her dad then sold the house to a woman I'll call Seller. When I was house-hunting, Seller put the property on the market and, since my agent was already somewhat familiar with the house, we went to look at it.
In the disclosures, Seller did mention that there was a history of termite infestation, but that it had been treated by ABC company and was inactive. I decided to buy and went to settlement in August 2005. Seller was coming from out of state to the settlement, so she was not there for most of the proceedings. At one point, Seller's agent said cheerily "Now make sure you check all of your boxes when you're moving in, so you don't bring any roaches into the house!" That struck me as really strange and I wish I had asked her what she meant by that, but at the time I was preoccupied with reading and signing all the papers that were being put in front of me.
After settlement, my family and I bought a cake and took it to the house to celebrate. At this time, none of my belongings had been moved in. When I unlocked the door and went in, there was a dead bug in the middle of the kitchen floor. I didn't look at it very closely, just kicked it aside. The next day, as we were all cleaning, I looked at it and wondered if it was a cockroach. I found another dead one that looked similar and started to get worried. At this point still, the only things I had moved into the house were bottles of cleaning suppies, a vacuum, etc. On the third day, I returned to the house in the evening and turned on the light and was shocked to see DOZENS of roaches scatter through the kitchen. As I started to actually sleep over at the house, I was finding roaches in the sink, on the curtains, everywhere! (I had no roach problems at my previous residence, so this was unsettling, to say the least.)
My real estate agent called to follow up on how I liked the house, and I told her about the problems. She contacted ABC company and supposedly was told that Seller did indeed have a pest control contract with them in addition to the termite contract, but had canceled it the month she placed the house on the market. My agent got a deal with ABC company to have the pest control contract reinstated in my name so that I would be paying the renewal fee, not the new customer fee. Since then, I have paid a lot of money to them for continuous treatments of the house. For the most part, the problem is under control, but I still see the occasional roach and they have also spread to my boyfriend's home (last year) and now to my parents' home (this month.) I would like to sell and move, but I would not try to deceive a buyer into assuming this problem. Also, I am afraid I will just be carrying the roaches and their eggs out on my belongings.
Which brings me back to my original question... Is there a way to prove that Seller failed to disclose the roach infestation and for me to sue for the costs of treatment to my home, or even for the purchase price of the home?? Based on what her agent said and the fact that she canceled the pest contract before putting the house on the market, I believe this was a deliberate deception. While I have my doubts about the involvement of my real estate agent (who I choose to no longer work with) in the matter, I suspect she wouldn't have known much since she never lived in the home when she owned it.
I appreciate any advice anyone can offer on my tale of woe, even if it's that I should "buyer beware" in the future.
Signed,
yaourt
I'm new to the forum, so please be patient with me!
My question is this: Do I have a case against the person who sold me my current (first) house if I can prove that she knowingly concealed a cockroach infestation?
Here's the (rather complex) background: The house was once owned by my real estate agent's adoptive father. (Also an agent who had invested her inheritance in property.) It was used as a rental and my agent never lived in it. She/her dad then sold the house to a woman I'll call Seller. When I was house-hunting, Seller put the property on the market and, since my agent was already somewhat familiar with the house, we went to look at it.
In the disclosures, Seller did mention that there was a history of termite infestation, but that it had been treated by ABC company and was inactive. I decided to buy and went to settlement in August 2005. Seller was coming from out of state to the settlement, so she was not there for most of the proceedings. At one point, Seller's agent said cheerily "Now make sure you check all of your boxes when you're moving in, so you don't bring any roaches into the house!" That struck me as really strange and I wish I had asked her what she meant by that, but at the time I was preoccupied with reading and signing all the papers that were being put in front of me.
After settlement, my family and I bought a cake and took it to the house to celebrate. At this time, none of my belongings had been moved in. When I unlocked the door and went in, there was a dead bug in the middle of the kitchen floor. I didn't look at it very closely, just kicked it aside. The next day, as we were all cleaning, I looked at it and wondered if it was a cockroach. I found another dead one that looked similar and started to get worried. At this point still, the only things I had moved into the house were bottles of cleaning suppies, a vacuum, etc. On the third day, I returned to the house in the evening and turned on the light and was shocked to see DOZENS of roaches scatter through the kitchen. As I started to actually sleep over at the house, I was finding roaches in the sink, on the curtains, everywhere! (I had no roach problems at my previous residence, so this was unsettling, to say the least.)
My real estate agent called to follow up on how I liked the house, and I told her about the problems. She contacted ABC company and supposedly was told that Seller did indeed have a pest control contract with them in addition to the termite contract, but had canceled it the month she placed the house on the market. My agent got a deal with ABC company to have the pest control contract reinstated in my name so that I would be paying the renewal fee, not the new customer fee. Since then, I have paid a lot of money to them for continuous treatments of the house. For the most part, the problem is under control, but I still see the occasional roach and they have also spread to my boyfriend's home (last year) and now to my parents' home (this month.) I would like to sell and move, but I would not try to deceive a buyer into assuming this problem. Also, I am afraid I will just be carrying the roaches and their eggs out on my belongings.
Which brings me back to my original question... Is there a way to prove that Seller failed to disclose the roach infestation and for me to sue for the costs of treatment to my home, or even for the purchase price of the home?? Based on what her agent said and the fact that she canceled the pest contract before putting the house on the market, I believe this was a deliberate deception. While I have my doubts about the involvement of my real estate agent (who I choose to no longer work with) in the matter, I suspect she wouldn't have known much since she never lived in the home when she owned it.
I appreciate any advice anyone can offer on my tale of woe, even if it's that I should "buyer beware" in the future.
Signed,
yaourt
