Thanks Sophie. We knew about this and the inspector mentioned it may be fixable. We are now trying to assess what can be done and how much it might cost.

Can anyone help?

That's a post (or column) that is rusted and should be replaced. The damage you see above is from the beam inside the drywall dropping down because of the post rusting at its base.

You will need a contractor to fix -- no idea on cost.

Not too sure if the garage is a single or double garage, i have to assume it is a double in order to us a I beam to support the upper floor. if it wasant disclosed when purchasing you may have something to fall back on. In terms of repair cost, you will have to remove the dry wall to expose the extent of the damage.In order to fix it you will need to support the existing roof , remove and replace the i beam and the support on the side. cost could easily be 3 - 5K.
you may want to go with LVL or Lam beam instead. What is strange is why the rust, i can only conclude there has been a plumbing problem over the years that has gone unchecked. Once you remove the drywall from around the beam and against the wall you will have your answers.

Thank you so much for the feedback. Yes it is a double garage. I have a contractor coming in tomorrow to check. So you guys think this is a threat to the structure of the house?

You won't know about 'threat' to the rest of the house until you open up the drywall, rip out the ceiling, support the weight of the ceiling and then replace the support. This may call for a structural engineer.

Rusting inside a wall is not good news. Once the drywall is out, you will see mould from water. The mould depth and height and location will tell you if this is "flood" from outside (ie. storm water) or if this is "plumbing" flood. There is also the possibility that moisture from the slab is incredibly high...and it is rotting out anything that is touching the slab. That would be rare...but moisture moves "up and out" from cement slabs. Again, we won't know until they open up the wall to view the condition of the entire section of post.

You may want to contact a realestate lawyer while you are waiting on the answers. They can go over your purchase contract to find out the loop holes. They will know where and when you can look for money.

While this is occuring...you may want to sleep somewhere other than over the garage. A collapsing ceiling means a collapsing bedroom floor.

Thank you so much for the feedback!!

Stadia….how was this repaired and what was the cost? Were you able to get compensation from the previous owner? Did you have the house and garage inspected before closing the deal?