Completed, moved in , found serious rat infestation

poledancer49

OMG...you poor people. really feel for you...how awful.

sandsni

Was the property significantly cheaper than others in the area? Anything to indicate the vendor was in a hurry to get the deal done before the "housemates" were discovered?

olly300

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

Not sure why the OP's getting such a harsh response. It seems reasonable to assume that the vendor would have cleaned up the droppings before viewings/survey.

Rodents chew things.

Even if you could clean up before an inspection/survey and could keep them out the surveyor would have noticed once s/he went into the loft that some of the cables/beams/loft insulation/etc had bite marks on it.

If someone looked at my shed now you would see teeth marks from squirrels on the wood, yet I've not had a squirrel make home in my shed for two years.

roses

Have you checked your local council for pest control? Mine come out for free for rat infestations.

HarryBarry

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

Not sure why the OP's getting such a harsh response. It seems reasonable to assume that the vendor would have cleaned up the droppings before viewings/survey.

Unfortunately I agree that you've got no claim against your scummy vendors, though.

I think the harsh response (its not too bad though) is because they want to blame someone else and claim money from them, when it is nothing to do with the previous owners.

It is just part of buying a house really, you have to do your own checks because the you know the seller isn't going to say "there are rats" or "there is a big crack in the wall over there". There was another thread I read where someone was kicking themselves because they missed some cracks in the wall, rather than blaming the sellers for not pointing it out.

You have an opportunity to do a full survey and find problems that aren't obvious from a quick viewing, or you can decide to save money and hope nothing comes up.

maninthestreet

Surely your surveyor would have looked in the loft, even if only briefly, and seen the signs of rat infestation which you seem to indicate are fairly obvious??

Hoof_Hearted

If you had a full survey, then consider approaching the surveyor for a refund. If an experienced surveyor looked in the loft he would know immediately that there was a problem. Rats have a distinctive smell. Sounds to me like he didn't bother. If you just had a valuation, then it's hard luck on you, but I do sympathise. We have taken a surveyor to small claims. He coughed up very quickly before the case was heard to preserve his reputation.

Tancred

Mezza1979 wrote: »

Is there any recourse on this?

We have lived there 3 weeks now and originally had a pest man come out to inspect and bait on day 1 of living there (having had a sleepless night thanks to the Rave the rats were clearly having in the loft and cavaity walls). After 2 weeks he seems unable to get the problem under any kind of control so we have called in another. he's been great, very thorough, and has looked at all aspeacts, drains, cavaity walls, under floorboards etc. He's confident he know their access in and out and can sort it over a month so we've moving forward with that but in the meantime.... the cost is not small to sort this and the owners clearly knew there was not only a problem, but a significant one at that given the volume of !!!! in the Loft. The new pest chap says its clearly been a problem for several years and has been left untreated! (eww! How the !!!! do people live like that). There is also 3 large fairly new rat traps in the loft. So someone knew! Alos the neighbours both sides (we're ina semi-detached house) both knew about the problem and said thatb the previous have known for years about it.

We think that the previous owners should have declared this issue as its not only unpleasant but a health risk.

is there any law about this? I have to speak to the Solicitor (as i don;t know of its worth it)
Thanks all!

Tough sh*t mate. You bought the house, you sort it out.

Did the surveyor not point out the issue to you? He should have gone to the loft and inspected it. If he did not spot the issue you should go and moan to him, but ultimately it is YOUR responsibility to inform yourself as much as possible about the property you are buying.

Edwardia

I would have contacted local council, as mine would sort the rats out free of charge because a health issue.

ognum

My daughter bought a house, we went to visit before she moved in and my small dog disappeared under the deck and came out with a rat in his mouth!

Never considered blaming the sellers simply got the local pest control out which was free and they dealt with it quickly!

Don't think you need to pay!