Rats Found During the Inspection

Dear Phyllis,
We were in escrow and during the inspection, a rat jumped out of the bedroom into the kitchen and seemed to hide there, perhaps under one of the appliances. As you can imagine, this was quite a shock and we left for the remainder of the inspection. In addition, our inspector found rat droppings behind the stove. Before our Realtor had an opportunity to make a formal request to the seller, the seller took it upon themselves to hire what we felt was a second-rate pest control company. I think they were just looking for the cheapest price. We didn’t like the warranty duration when the invoice was presented to us as proof that the rat(s) were taken care of. The sellers refused to credit us for a pest control company of our choice. Also, we believe that the sellers were well aware of this infestation. Therefore, we canceled escrow as we didn’t know what else they might be hiding. Shouldn’t the seller at least pay for our inspection and appraisal for this failure to disclose properly? Our Realtor doesn’t seem to think this is reasonable. What do you think? Jenna

Dear Jenna,
Yikes! Over my years of selling real estate, inspectors often find rodent droppings in attics. In most instances, it comes as a surprise. However, a rat roaming around the house is a different story. It seems that there would be evidence of food being eaten if the rat was living in the kitchen.

If the sellers were aware of rodents, they should have disclosed that. Did you find rat traps or anything to give you the feeling they knew of the rodents? Typically, people don’t have rat traps around unless they have rats. In this instance, your Realtor could write a letter to the seller’s agent, noting that this should have been disclosed, and ask for you to be reimbursed for your out-of-pocket expenses. If there were traps, the seller was likely aware of the infestation. If there were no traps, it won’t be easy to prove that the seller knew and failed to disclose. If the seller refuses to reimburse you, your recourse would be small claims court.

Phyllis