Don't Take a Sellers' Pest Report as Gospel -- Always Arrange Your Own Inspection

Q: We recently bought a house in Maryland. The pest report from the seller reported only some termite damage in the basement where there was water damage. Right after we moved in, we saw lots of swarming insects in the bedroom. We were horrified.

We called a few pest control companies and they all identified the flying insects as dampwood termites.

They also said the same thing most likely happened in the past, especially since the previous owned lived in the house for more than 20 years.

We talked to the neighbors and they said it has happened many times before.

But the sellers didn't disclose anything about termites. When asked, the sellers said they never saw the swarming termites. It is going to be costly to find the source of the problem and fix it. This was totally unexpected.

Are the sellers responsible for some of the repair?

A: I have never heard of dampwood termites, but learned from an Internet search that this is a breed of insect found primarily on the Pacific coast. Are you sure that your termite people didn't say "drywood"?

Your first mistake was to allow the seller or the seller's agent to arrange for the termite inspection. The Regional Sales Contract -- the real estate contract form generally used in the Washington area -- allows the buyer and seller to agree on which party will pay for a pest control firm to inspect for termites. I always prefer to do my own investigations, rather than rely on the other side. This way I can blame only myself for any mistakes.

You received a report that there was termite damage in the basement. Did you pursue this? What kind of damage was there? The Regional Sales Contract states in paragraph 16 that any "extermination and structural repairs identified in the inspection report will be made at Seller's expense." Did you ask the seller to make any repairs, or at least give you a credit at settlement?

Did you get a disclosure from the seller? Although sellers in the District are required to provide full disclosure of the condition of the house, in Virginia and in Maryland, sellers can opt not to make any such disclosures. In those situations, potential home buyers should retain a qualified home inspector who will carefully review every inch of the house. All potential buyers should have a contingency in their sales contract, giving them the right to terminate the contract (or at least negotiate for a credit at settlement) should the inspection report find problems.

Did you use a home inspector? Although inspectors are not pest inspectors and are not obligated to disclose the existence of termites, my experience is that most of them will at least flag potential termite problems during the inspection.

You may have a case against three possible parties: