Rodents in the attic and not included on home inspection!

[Heather Moreland]

We bought a triplex two months ago and moved into one of the units. Since we've bought the house, the long-term tenants in the other two units have paid their rents on time and have been generally pleasant. Good news, according to plan.

What wasn't in the plan was one tenant complaining about hearing some kind of rodent in the walls. We called the exterminator and had them set traps, and the tenant confirmed that she doesn't hear them anymore. Good deal.

Then the exterminator company sent in a inspector this afternoon, who went up into the attic to look around--he showed me pictures of it and it's a disaster. There are nests and dark spots everywhere (ugh). He recommended having the edges of the insulation replaced with pest-repellent insulation...to the tune of $4500. Ouch.

As I mentioned above, we just purchased the building two months ago and had a full home inspection done---the inspector included the attic space and said it was in acceptable condition on all counts with no additional comments. Can we make some kind of claim against the home inspector? Is there some kind of warranty for that? This is our first home purchase and we really need advice.

Thanks in advance!

[Wayne Brooks]

If you read the agreement/home inspection report from the inspector, you will see your answer is no.  Generally, their total liability might be returning your inspection fee.