How does one go about taking legal action against an incompetent home inspector?

I have handled cases of this type on the past and have one ongoing at this time. You may have several ways to approach this problem.  If the inspector did a negligent job in ithe inspection you can sue on that negligence for the damages that have resulted from him failing to find the problem(s).  If you hired thim to do the job and he did it poorly you probably have a claim under the Texas decptive Trade Practices--Consumer Protection Act.  Under the negligence theroy you cannot recover attorney's fees.  Unter the DTPA you can recover attorney's fees.  Both causes of action have a two year statute of limitations to bring suit. You may alos bring the suit undaer a contract theory.  Here too you can recover attorney's fees.  The statute of limitations is four years.   Suits of this type usually require the services of an expert witness in the area of home inspections.  The expert fees can run  three to five thousand dollars, but are also recoverable in court.   It is also possible that the seller of the property may be liable if you can establish that he knew about termite problems and failed to disclose them to you.  Respdeintial sales in Texas reqire a Seller's Disclosure of Porperty Condition form.  Often Sellers fail to disclose the bad parts of the history of the house out of fear that the sale will be stopped.  Any recovery from the Seller could be more difficult to prove.   I hope this helps.   Russel L. Robinson