Do you really need a termite inspection? 

Do not treat lightly your opportunity to have the house inspected for termites. First of all, if you need a mortgage to buy the house, you'll find that institutional lenders REQUIRE that a termite inspection be done. Your lender is concerned - and rightly so - that it might be lending its money to buy a house that is infested with insects that have or will harm the house's structure. If that were the case, the mortgage loan that is being given to you could never be recouped by the lender since the house will be devalued greatly by the little pests. YOU should be just as concerned, because the house that you've contracted to purchase for $500,000.00 may be worth a lot less with termites in it.

NOTE: "Termite" or "pest" inspection is the popular term. However, the inspection actually encompasses all "wood destroying insects". Termites happen to be the most prevalent of these pests.

Most houses do not have a termite problem, but a substantial minority do. Termites are usually a hidden but potent problem. They literally can destroy a structure without revealing visible signs. You'll be carrying your new television downstairs and fall right through the third step. Why? Because termites have burrowed through the wood and weakened the stair case. For these reasons, a good Contract of Sale (Purchase Agreement) is contingent upon the results of a termite report.

Most often, there is a provision placed into the Contract of Sale (Purchase Agreement) giving you, the buyer or seller, a short time period within which to have the house inspected for wood destroying insects. I usually give buyers fourteen days from the full execution of the Contract of Sale (Purchase Agreement). In other words, immediately after receiving a fully-signed Contract of Sale (Purchase Agreement), you should make an appointment with a licensed inspector or extermination company to go to the house and inspect for termites. Ask your Realtor® to refer a company he trusts, or look in the yellow pages, call a few companies and compare their fees. When you've chosen a termite inspection company, you then have to arrange for the company's access to the house, just like with the home inspector. If there is a real estate broker involved in your purchase, let the broker arrange a time with the seller for the inspection.

One of three situations could result from a termite inspection. First, "no evidence" of wood destroying insects on a report means what it sounds like it means - that the inspection revealed no evidence or trace of wood destroying insects, dead or alive, and no evidence of their damage to the house. The inspector will provide you, the buyer, with a report to this effect, and you frequently are asked to provide a copy of the report to your lender.

Second, "evidence of damage" means that the inspector found damage to the house which likely was caused by wood destroying insects. However, in this scenario, the inspector has found no "active infestation" or rather no evidence that the damage is currently being perpetrated by live insects. In this second scenario, you should ask the termite inspection company to issue to you a one-year guaranty against active infestation, in addition to the report itself. Some lenders will be satisfied that there is no active infestation on the date the termite report is issued, but a number will require a guaranty from the termite inspection company that extends for one year.

In the third scenario, the inspector finds an "active infestation". It sounds bad, and it is, but a good Contract of Sale (Purchase Agreement) will cover this situation as well. Remember, a Contract of Sale (Purchase Agreement) is a flexible document, not just a form. You and your Realtor® can negotiate almost anything into it. Contracts of Sale (Purchase Agreements) may permit you, the buyer, to back out or terminate the contract if there is evidence of an active termite infestation. A better Contract of Sale (Purchase Agreement) will give the seller an opportunity to remedy the termite problem by having it treated within a reasonable period of time, usually at the seller's expense, and having any termite damage repaired.

Not to sound redundant, but . . . most houses are made substantially of wood. Thus, termites are the arch enemies of houses, and you should be sure to protect yourself against the risk they pose. In California "it is not if you have termites, but when are you going to get them"!