Bed Bug Experience.

[Bill W.]

Sold a manufactured home last week and all went well. Buyers were happy and were moving in that day. The following afternoon they called to tell me that the home had bed bugs. Ugggh.

I arranged for an exterminator the following day who, after going through the home, said the home was badly infested. The poor buyer was crying as she listened to the news. The treatment is to happen tomorrow afternoon and should take care of the problem but the buyers have had to live in those conditions for four nights. The exterminator advised not to go sleep elsewhere or they will likely contaminate wherever they go.

I texted the seller, whom I had bought the home from, and he played dumb and then would not respond to any more texts or calls after that which is what I figured would happen.

I had owned the home for two weeks and saw no evidence of the bugs. I wish I had sooner as it would have been easier to treat if the home were empty and the buyers would have avoided the unpleasant experience. It seems difficult at best to detect until someone spends the night there which is when the bugs are drawn out of the walls. Hopefully after tomorrow, this issue is in the past.

[Colleen F.]

I am sorry for your trouble, Not everyone reacts to bed bug bites so the previous owner could have been someone who had no sensitivity to them. If you want to give him the benefit of the doubt that is. It can also take up to 14 days for someone to react to bed bugs while other people are very sensitive to them or any type of insect bite for that matter. It is intolerable for them. I lean more towards the later so I am sympathetic to the new owners. For exterminators you wish you never need them but you always feel better when they tell you that you it was really needed....

[Xing Zhu]

Very difficult to get rid of them.

[Bill W.]

Collen, Thanks for the comments. I'd love to give the original seller the benefit of the doubt but seems so unlikely. The bugs were in all three bedrooms and common areas including the kitchen which the exterminator said was unusual.

Xing, Bad to hear. This is my first time dealing with them so I don't have any thing to gauge. I'm crossing my fingers they are gone tomorrow and I can move one.

Bill

[Matt Devincenzo]

Do a forum search here for treating bedbugs. You will likely want to sign up for some sort of multi month treatment to ensure that they are really gone and that you don't end up having the buyer call you back in a few weeks.

Sorry to hear that this is what you get to deal with, but it sounds like you're handling it in a way that you should whether you are legally obligated to or not. These are the kinds of situations that show an investor's true colors and separate the good from the not so good investors.

[Bill W.]

Matt, thanks for the tip and words. The company I'm using will come back in two weeks after treatment to inspect and offers a 90 day warranty on treatment. Hopefully it will get a clean bill of health during that time and won't need further treatment.

The only good thing is this is in a stand alone unit. I couldn't imagine having to deal with this on a multifamily or apartment.