First time home buyer..It's been a nightmare :(

[Anonymous]

Hi!  I am hoping someone can hopefully give me some advice!  We closed on our First home back in May.  The day we got our keys, we went to paint the ceiling and it was wet.  We have a home warrenty and they sent out a roof guy to check it out. He went up on the roof and fixed a few shingles but when he came back down he had some pictures with him.  He said we have big problems.  Bats under the shingles. I figured that we would just get rid of them.  My neighbor is an exterminator and he explained how to get rid of them.  We found out we couldn't get rid of them until August because they are protected because the babies can't fly until August.  In the mean time a few bats got into our home.  We got them out and filled anywhere we thought they could be getting in.  We haven't had any in a month.  So on Friday night we got up on the roof and filled in a whole bunch of holes and put the nets up to let the bats out but not back in.  We watched to see if any were coming out and they were coming out of the nets! YAY! Success!  But we also saw some coming out of our bell tower.  (We bought an old one room school house that was renovated in to a home) So on Sunday my husband got on the roof to fill in the holes around the bell tower and he comes back down to tell me there is no way he can fill all of the holes because where there are shingles buckled there are bats under all of them.  We couldn't seal this roof if we tried.  

We are dealing with hundereds if not thousands of bats.  This is not a new colony. We have been dealing with this since the day we got the keys.  The woman who sold us this house signed a disclosure and she said there were no pests in the home.  There is NO way this is a new colony and that she never had a bat in this house.  We have had 5 in the house from the day we moved in to now and when we sealed the roof, 6 more came in in the past 2 days.  So 11 bats since May.  I don't know what to do.  I feel like there is no way she didn't know the roof was wet which I now believe is not just water but bat poo as well.  This is a huge issue and she hid it!  Is there anything we can do? Is there any way we are protected?  We have a home warrentry but I am not sure this is covered in that.  What about home owners insurance?  This is our first home and this has been a nightmare with the bats and the roof.  I did write my mortgage lady and my realtor but neither have responded to me at all.  Please help!  Thank you! 

[Anonymous]

no home inspection?  You might want to call a lawyer instead of the mortgage company and realtor.  Realtors can be like car salesman, just don't rely on them unless there is money on the line

[StartingOver10]

I too am amazed that this passed the home inspections.

Get in touch with a real estate attorney that has litigation experience (not all do) right away. If you are in a full disclosure state, you might be able to either have the deal unwound or get the seller to pay to treat and repair, but this would have to be handled by an attorney/lawsuit/judge.

This is way out of the hands of any Realtor. Unless you were advised to not get an inspection, then you may have recourse there too - in addition to recourse against the seller.

Get on it now, timing is important.

[justrock]

Ask your exterminator neighbor if he has any information about the previous homeowner's experience with the bats.  Ask all your neighbors for that matter.  It might help build your case against the seller if you have any recourse down that avenue.

[Anonymous]

We did have an inspection done.  The guy told us we would have to have a new roof done in the next 5 years and here it is not even a year and I am pretty sure I need a new one now. On our inspection report it says there are no watermarks on the ceiling...except the day we moved in and we went to paint the ceiling was wet.  I have cathedrel ceilings.   I'm in Michigan so I am not sure if we are a full disclosure state or not.  More then anything it's the bats that are frustrating to me.  They are everywhere up there and there is no way she didn't know.  I angry she didn't tell us.  

[StartingOver10]

Your situation sounds serious to me.

I am not qualified to answer any of your questions. You are better off going to a good real estate attorney in your area that knows real estate law and has litigation experience. Here is a link I found that has some info for you, but really you need an attorney:  http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-listing-real-estate-brokers-michigan-must-disclose-about...

[Anonymous]

So your home inspector didn't notice or make mention of the bats?

[Anonymous]

No My inspector didn't say anything about the bats  He did the inspection while there was snow on the roof...although going back to look at my pictures now I can see all of the cracks on the roof and all of that.  He didn't say how serious it could be at all.  Just said I would need a new roof in the next 5 years.  My Mortgage broker finally emailed me back.  She is doing some investigating for me right now.  I am also going to call a few attorneys and see what my course of action needs to be! Thank you

[tanyagarrett]

I am so sorry to here that this is happening to you.....I just can't stop LMAO.  

[Anonymous]

Are you serious?  So glad I could make you laugh.  Wow