I closed thursday, 12/16 on a home in Martin County, FL. The home is approx 5 years old. I had the home inspected on 8/4/04 by US Inspect. They also performed the termite inspection. Their report shows no termites found. But... today while getting started on the renovations & painting I opened wide both front doors, and while cleaning the dust & spider webs from the jambs, I noticed what looked like "ripples" in the wood. It was clearly visible from 5 - 8 feet away. The ripples were of course, soft wood. After I poked a few times, a few good chunks crumbled, and there they were - live termites feasting away. I pulled the outside molding off of that particular jamb, and the tracks ran all the way up & down. My point is, the damage was obivous to the naked eye - and the inspector clearly missed the signs. The opposite jamb was also soft in some spots. My question is who is responsible? The inspection company or the seller? What do I have to do to hold them liable?

Thanks,
John

I would call the company that performed the termite inspection, tell them what you found, and invite them over to see for themselves.

When they get there and see the problem ask them what they intend to do about it.

In the termites companies defense they only perform a visible inspection and do not do invasive testings, i.e. pulling off door moldings, etc.

Take lots of pictures right now before pulling off any more moldings etc.

around here, if there are found after the fact, it's not on the sellers, so your only recourse is to go to the ppl that did the inspection.

my other question, why did you have the termite inspection done so far in advance?

Most Florida termite inspections warrant only up to the cost of the inspection. Most Termite Bonds are good only for re-treatment Not Repairs.

In Florida it is not a question of "Do you have a Live Infestation" it is when will your get it or how bad was the last one.

Get it under Bond and have it inspected by a knowledgeable inspector each year and retreat when required.

You will often find that many of the larger national companies provide the poorest inspections. It is often a dirty job and the most junior and thinest people are assigned that task. I have had to point out termite tubes to one "national" company inspector after he had already signed the Termite Certificat.... when I knocked the tubes down and the little white buggers fell out his statement was... "Wow!! So that is what a termite looks like!!!" They were used because the Buyer want them because of their TV ads.

Find a local family run business that has been doing termite treatment in the area for at least 20 years and check with BBB for compalints... if you find none or few.. use them over the uniformed nationals.

Funny, Realty Check re: the inspector

So are termites always a bad thing? I mean if there is no structural damage, isn't it enough to just treat the area? Also, do they die off in the winter?

There was this house that had to be treated and the technician drilled holes spaced about a foot apart in the concrete porch. He commented that wood above the treatment might become infested because it was wet and the termites would travel up to get away from the poison. (did I make sense?) Does what he said make sense?

Many types of termites and we have them all. You probably had the Subterranean varity...

Not sure it is realistic that they will "run through the poison to get to higher ground".

Wet wood is an invitation to most types.

As for winter... no they don't die off just slow down... generally move into the warmest dampest areas, or they stay a few feet underground till it warms up.

Treatment is OK if they have not done structural damage... but that is difficult to determine with out invasive / destructive inspections... which home sellers are usually not willing to have done.

We have two homes in Longwood that were inspected by the same company. Both homes are 500k plus. The first home had sub termites and about 200k worth of damage. The second home was condemned by the county. They gave the new owners there hours to remove their possessions. They have both been in the legal system for over a year. Glad to see that they have the same standards throughout the state. If you would like to contact the owners in Longwood e-mail me and I will send their contact info.

Wow, that is serious termite damage. I was upset that I had to pay $500 to get a treatment. :-)

Anyway, I'd call the inspection company to see what their service covers. If they missed something that they should not have, they need to perform a proper inspection. If there was not a good way that they could have or should have known about the damage, you may need to pay for the treatment yourself.

I would question the sellers to see if they had prior knowledge of this or did not disclose an issue that could have caused this problem.