An inaccurate termite report and finding damage after closing leads to one of the most unwelcome and nasty surprises for homebuyers – when they discover termite damage after they have bought the home due to an inaccurate inspection report. This is most often the result of a termite inspector’s negligence. Homeowners can recover compensation and repair costs for damages due to the termite inspection report being inaccurate.
Whitney, LLP’s real estate lawyers help home buyers bring claims and file lawsuits against dishonest and negligent home sellers, house flippers, real estate agents and termite inspection companies across Maryland. Our attorneys recover compensation for buyers to repair hidden damage and defects, and for emotional distress. We offer Legal Consultations.
If you need a real estate lawyer near me to help with hidden damage, failure to disclose defects, negligence or fraud in the purchase of a house, Call Us at 410 583 8000 or use our Online Quick Contact Form.
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Suing a Termite Inspector for Unreported Damage
If there has been an issue with the termite report that has caused you financial damage, the most likely culprit is the termite inspector. When they come to the property to look for signs of termite infestation or damage, they have certain obligations to you as the buyer. If they do not uphold their professional duty and are negligent, you can sue them for monetary damages.
Your termite inspector is just like any other professional who does work for you. They owe you a duty of care when they are examining the property that you want to buy. You are relying on the contents of the inspector’s Wood Destroying Inspection Report (WDI) and would certainly suffer if they were wrong or if they missed something.
Filing a Lawsuit for Negligence or Fraud for a Termite Inspection
Here, you would need to prove that the WDI inspector did not live up to their professional duty in the job that they did on your home. At Whitney LLP, we have experience in holding termite inspectors accountable in negligence and fraud lawsuits for missed and undisclosed damage.
Remember that your termite inspector is not necessarily expected to find every single bit of possible termite damage, and they are not the ultimate guarantor that your home is termite damage-free. However, we will ask some very hard-hitting questions if the inspector did miss signs of damage to see if there was a legitimate reason or if they were just plain careless.
While many cases against inspectors involve negligence, there are some cases where the termite inspector has acted fraudulently and intentionally not disclosed damage. In those cases, the inspector could be made to pay much more than just the cost of fixing the damage.
Termite Damage Cases Against the Seller or a Real Estate Agent
Beyond the WDI inspector, you should also consider the possibility of a lawsuit against the seller or q real estate agent. This is the remedy that you would pursue in cases where the termite inspector could not have been expected to detect the damage due to damage being hidden and/or not disclosed by the seller and a real estate agent.
In those cases, the seller or agent could know of termite damage that they hid, failed to disclose or just plain lied about. If the termite inspector is now saying that there was damage that they could have never known about due to it being covered up, the seller could be responsible for your monetary damages if they knew or should have known about the issue.
Maryland Lawyers for Hidden Termite Damage Cases
Hidden or missed termite damage can be repaired after recovering compensation from the responsible party. Whitney, LLP lawyers have experience helping homeowners fight back against negligence and fraud.
If you were the victim of a dishonest seller, real estate agent or WDI/termite inspection company in Maryland, contact Whitney, LLP’s real estate lawyers at 410 583 8000, or use our Online Quick Contact Form, for your Legal Consultation.
We represent homebuyers throughout Maryland, including Baltimore, Columbia, Germantown, Silver Spring, Waldorf, Frederick, Ellicott City, Glen Burnie, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Bethesda, Dundalk, Towson, Bowie, Aspen Hill and Wheaton.