What is the name of your state? MO
We purchased a house the start of last year from an elderly couple. Couple of day after moving in the couple visited us and said that he felt bad that they hadn't disclosed about the termite damage the property had and that his realtor told them not to mention it in their disclosure.
He told us not to worry as the house had been treated and the damage he was aware of was around the front of the entryway. He also said that his realtor told them not to disclose the damage.
So this winter the house would not warm up, so I checked the doors removing the door casings only to find about 25% of the frame missing and damage to the studs and door that had been patched with this epoxy of some sort.
Later that week I checked the kitchen door only to find far worse damage that continued throughout the walls and completed eroded the sub flooring. Now I am from England so we don't have termites; when we viewed the house I asked the realtor why the flooring in the kitchen was so spongy - she said the floor had been water damaged and not to worry because the flooring would be replaced before we took possession. When we took possession there was a new vinyl floor in and it wasn't spongy so didn't think anymore about it till finding all this damage. What the seller’s son had done before we moved in was place a thin piece of veneer over the extensive damage to cover up the damage and make the floor appear solid.
We did not have a termite inspection done, we trusted the cute old couple and what they had put in the sellers discloser, note to self never trust a book by it’s cover.
There is more damage but these two areas are the key point. We contacted an attorney that suggested writing them a letter and trying to resolve this without going to court. We wrote them a very nice letter to which we have a reply from their attorney stating they never told us about any damage and they aren't aware of any damage to the house. We understanding they are lying and we have plenty of pictures to show that the floor had been covered up a week prior to us moving in, as for all the epoxy placed around the house to which they also claim they have no knowledge of.
So what position are my wife and I in, we are already out some $5,000 in just materials to replace some of the damage, the realtor and sellers of course have an alliance to support each other’s lies. Should we get a real estate attorney can anyone suggest a good one and ideas for us to progress forward? If I were to guess, as I am no contractor if a professional did the work it would be well over $20,000.
Many many thanks the Jones
We purchased a house the start of last year from an elderly couple. Couple of day after moving in the couple visited us and said that he felt bad that they hadn't disclosed about the termite damage the property had and that his realtor told them not to mention it in their disclosure.
He told us not to worry as the house had been treated and the damage he was aware of was around the front of the entryway. He also said that his realtor told them not to disclose the damage.
So this winter the house would not warm up, so I checked the doors removing the door casings only to find about 25% of the frame missing and damage to the studs and door that had been patched with this epoxy of some sort.
Later that week I checked the kitchen door only to find far worse damage that continued throughout the walls and completed eroded the sub flooring. Now I am from England so we don't have termites; when we viewed the house I asked the realtor why the flooring in the kitchen was so spongy - she said the floor had been water damaged and not to worry because the flooring would be replaced before we took possession. When we took possession there was a new vinyl floor in and it wasn't spongy so didn't think anymore about it till finding all this damage. What the seller’s son had done before we moved in was place a thin piece of veneer over the extensive damage to cover up the damage and make the floor appear solid.
We did not have a termite inspection done, we trusted the cute old couple and what they had put in the sellers discloser, note to self never trust a book by it’s cover.
There is more damage but these two areas are the key point. We contacted an attorney that suggested writing them a letter and trying to resolve this without going to court. We wrote them a very nice letter to which we have a reply from their attorney stating they never told us about any damage and they aren't aware of any damage to the house. We understanding they are lying and we have plenty of pictures to show that the floor had been covered up a week prior to us moving in, as for all the epoxy placed around the house to which they also claim they have no knowledge of.
So what position are my wife and I in, we are already out some $5,000 in just materials to replace some of the damage, the realtor and sellers of course have an alliance to support each other’s lies. Should we get a real estate attorney can anyone suggest a good one and ideas for us to progress forward? If I were to guess, as I am no contractor if a professional did the work it would be well over $20,000.
Many many thanks the Jones
