How to determine termite damage?

[Dennis Tierney]

We have a 9 building property under contract and the termite inspection has found that one building has been treated in the past but the other 8 and the garages all have evidence of untreated termites. It appears the seller has chosen willful ignorance in treating one then failing to check the other 8. So how do you determine how much structural damage has occured while he looked the ohter way? I doubt he'll let us take the walls apart in each building to assess damage. All the buildings also have evidence of ground water problems that have been minimally addressed. I may just end up walking away. Any suggestions?

[Ed Matson]

@Dennis Tierney - I purchased a SFH for a flip. Had it termite inspected. Inspection found evidence of old activity but no new activity and no apparent damage. During demo we found armies of very much alive and hungry termites and $17K of extra work including replacing three walls of the garage while temporarily supporting the roof which had just been redone. . Since then I do not purchase a property if there is evidence of any activity without actually removing drywall and/or sheathing to inspect sills and lower studs for damage. I do this at my expense. If I'm not permitted to do this, i walk. Seller did permit me to remove sheetrock on three family at my expense.