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In a nutshell, a couple bought a house in Maryland for $410,000. They had to move out because house is infected with black rat snakes and are suing for $2million or they want their money back and the house returned. They claim real the estate agent (who is the daughter of the seller) did not disclose snake infestation. They cannot live in the house with their two children because its not safe for kids. They are suing real estate agent and broker and home inspector.
Prior home history: one family member raised family there for 20 years, renters lived there for 4 years, another family only rented for a year or so before leaving. Everyone saw some snakes. These snakes are incredibly common in Maryland.
Seller claims she had pest control out for snakes, including infrared and home was treated.
Also, neighbor told buyers that house had snakes, so buyers hired inspector who didn't find them.
The story is a bit complicated, but I've lived in Maryland I can tell you rat snakes are incredibly common. They're not venomous (not that I want them in my house).
Also, most people, especially if you live in rural MD, have them in their walls and don't know it.
I think I'd be a bit more worried about the mice/rats that snakes were eating. In MD, if you have snakes, it's because they have food (mice/rats) and you'd remove the food source and leave the snakes alone, for the most part.
This is reason number 152 why I don't do a lot of renovations on my houses--just never know what you're going to find.
Anyway, what do you think? Did the seller have to legally disclose? Or did she do enough by having the house treated? Is it unreasonable to have the seller tear about the house to find the snakes?
well I have seen occasionally one just outside our house and I think that is OK but it looks like this house is seriously messed up and seller must have taken care of it (simply treating it means nothing if it didn't work) or disclose it fully (which will bring the price down quite a lot - I am not sure if that happened) when he/she sold it. You cannot live in a house where you find a snake almost every month that too inside!
So I guess the folks in Maryland are too stupid to get rid of the rats so the snakes go away. Must be sumthin in the wader. Those snakes aren't living on their good looks, they're eating something and it's obvious that they are feasting on a huge population of rats or lizards. But then, that would be using common sense. As my step dad would say "stupid people shouldn't breed". Black Rat Snake | The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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I'm not entirely convinced that the seller knew the house was actually infested. I mean, the homeowners didn't know until they started ripping out the ceiling and walls.
I also think that if the buyer's snake inspector didn't find any snakes, why would the seller be able to find them?
I'm not entirely convinced that the seller knew the house was actually infested. I mean, the homeowners didn't know until they started ripping out the ceiling and walls.
I also think that if the buyer's snake inspector didn't find any snakes, why would the seller be able to find them?
I wonder if insurance will cover any of this.
There is actually a reason for this. The house was purchased in December. Snakes go underground and hibernate in the winter, typically.
Idaho had a snake house like this too. People bought it in the winter, no snakes, but come spring, snakes started coming out of the drains, etc. They let it go back to the bank. Bank resold it, again in the winter, no snakes, come spring, snakes showed back up. Neither seller disclosed.
In this case, though, it sounds like it might have been disclosed, but the buyer proceeded anyway.
I know one thing - common or not, but I would run away screaming even if I saw something that even theoretically looked like a snake, in the house... I would never return... I would move to a different state...
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