"I had an inspection done on a house I am buying. Upon inspection, three joists in the basement were found to have past termite damage."

What did the inspector recommend about repair? Have you brought in a contractor or engineer to look at the issue? Will the house be priced accordingly if you need to do repairs? Tough for us to gauge as the NE covers a lot of COL areas and real estate markets.

Yes I would still buy it, but first I would figure out what the fix entailed and the cost etc. Then I'd likely negotiate with the owner to lower the price because I'd want to be in control of who does the fix, but if you think the negotiations would work better asking them to repair I'd do so with an after it's done inspected again to make sure it was done satisfactorily.

Carpenter ants can do damage, too. You want to get a quote from someone to assess the damage and give you a quote. Maybe you need to pay someone. We had some issues with our inspection and hired a chimney guy to send a camera up the chimneys. Then, we knew the extent of the issue (sufficient that the fireplaces were not usable, until fixed.) We also got quotes for lining the chimneys.

No. I would not walk away.

First, arrange an inspection from a qualified pest control inspector to determine if there is any current activity.

Second, arrange for a structural engineer to inspect the damage. They will make determination if the structure is compromised.

Using professionals to ascertain the degree of damage and the soundness of the structure will tell you if you need to walk away, negotiate repairs or nothing else need be done.

Termites are not an all or nothing situation. Education and professional expertise are the keys to a good outcome.

Expensive money pit if you ask me. The sub floor and built up beams look newer than the floor joists by about 50 years. There is something weird about this house and think it was built on top the bones of a tear down or they used salvaged lumber for the floor joists because they look 100 years old.

You also don't know the condition of the other floor joists inside, but a pocket knife stuck into the others would have told the inspector the condition. If you can go back stick the other joists with a knife, and take a marble to set on the floors to see how bad everything is out of level. Something isn't right.

While homechef's advice is sound, I'd be inclined to save the inspection fees and move on.

As kevin9408 says, there's something off. It reminds me of cottages I looked at, only to see they were obviously built with re-cycled lumber.