Should You Get a Termite Inspection Before Buying a House in Texas?
Before you buy a house in Collin County, get a termite inspection from a licensed termite inspector, separate from the home inspection. In Texas a home inspector working under the real estate commission’s license is not allowed to say whether termites are in the house, and the termites found here live underground and stay out of sight. This article covers when a termite inspection is required, who pays for it, what the inspector checks and what the report means for the sale.
- A Texas home inspector working under the real estate commission’s license may not say whether termites are present. Only a licensed termite inspector can.
- The report must be on the Texas Department of Agriculture’s own form.
- The VA requires termite information for every home in Texas.
- The inspector reports what invites termites, such as wood touching soil and too much moisture.
- The inspection is visual, so termites hidden inside walls can be missed.
Should you get a termite inspection before buying a house?
Yes, a termite inspection before buying a house in Texas is worth getting, because the standard home inspection does not cover termites. The Texas Real Estate Commission says a home inspector working under its license may not comment on whether termites are present.
Only a person licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture as a wood destroying insect inspector can report on termites in a home.
The home inspector still has a part to play. The Texas Real Estate Commission’s answer on termites says the inspector should note visible damage as a deficiency but may not say insects caused it, and that some home inspectors also hold the termite license and can do both jobs if hired for that.
The termites here are hard to spot without one. The EPA’s termite page says termites rarely come out of the soil, their mud tubes or the wood they are eating, and that most people only find out when winged termites appear or damage turns up during construction. The termite in Collin County is the eastern subterranean termite, shown in our pest library.
Is a termite inspection required for a VA loan?
Yes, for a home in Texas the VA requires termite information before it issues its Notice of Value on the house. The Department of Veterans Affairs lists Texas among the states where wood-destroying insect information is required for the entire state.
Since a June 2022 circular, the VA lets veterans pay the inspection fee where it requires one, and it encourages them to negotiate that cost and any repairs with the seller.
Other lenders can ask for a termite report too. The Texas rule on real estate termite reports says every report must be on the Texas Department of Agriculture’s form, and that lenders such as the VA may want the results on their own form as well. Ask your lender at the start whether it needs a termite report, so the inspection is booked in time.
What does a termite inspector look for?
A Texas termite inspector looks for live termites, mud tubes, damage and the conditions that invite termites, in every part of the house that can be reached. The Texas Department of Agriculture’s rule names the areas, from the plumbing in the kitchen, baths and laundry to door frames, baseboards and the outside of the slab.
Porches, the fireplace and the weep holes are on the same list.
The report has to name what the inspector saw. Under the Texas rule on termite inspections, that includes termite tubes, exit holes, evidence of past treatment or past termites, and conditions such as wood touching the soil, form boards left in place, too much moisture, wood debris around the house, a soil line too high, cracks in the slab and decks. The report also carries a diagram of the house.
What the inspector cannot see is not covered. The same rule says concealed termites and damage may not be found, and it lists places the inspection does not have to reach, among them the inside of hollow walls, behind built-in cabinets, under insulation and floor coverings, and anywhere stored belongings or locks block the way. Read that part of the report as closely as the findings.
Who pays for a termite inspection when buying a house?
The Texas resale contract does not say who pays for a termite inspection the buyer orders, so that cost is the buyer’s unless the seller agrees to cover it. The contract does list loan-related inspection fees among the buyer’s expenses, which takes in a termite report the lender requires.
For a VA loan, the VA lets the veteran be charged for an inspection it requires and encourages negotiating that cost with the seller.
The Texas resale contract says that unless the two sides agree in writing, neither has to pay for treatment a lender requires, termite treatment included. If nobody agrees to pay, the contract ends and the buyer’s earnest money is refunded, and if the repairs and treatments a lender requires come to more than 5% of the sales price, the buyer may end the contract. For a VA loan, the VA’s 2022 circular lets the veteran pay for the inspection and encourages negotiating that cost with the seller.
What a Texas termite report means for the sale
Each finding on the report points to a different next step. The meanings below follow the Texas Department of Agriculture’s inspection rule.
| On the report | What it means for the buyer |
|---|---|
| Active infestation | Termites or other wood destroying insects are in the house now. The inspector can recommend treatment, and the damage needs a closer look before closing. |
| Previous infestation, treated | Termites were there and the house shows signs of treatment. Ask the seller for the treatment records and for any termite plan that stays with the house. |
| Previous infestation, no treatment | Termites were there and nothing shows they were treated. The inspector can recommend treatment, the same as for live termites. |
| Conditions that invite termites | Wood touching soil, too much moisture or a soil line too high. Not termites, but worth fixing before they arrive. |
| Inaccessible areas | Places the inspector could not see, such as hollow walls or behind built-in cabinets. Termites there can be missed. |
A report that lists only conditions that invite termites is not a finding of termites.
Unless the two sides agree otherwise in writing, the Texas resale contract puts agreed treatment on the seller, finished before closing and done by people licensed to do it. When a report shows termites, our termite treatment page explains how a colony is found and stopped, and our article on the signs of subterranean termites shows what the damage looks like.
When to schedule a termite inspection
- Ask your lender at the start whether it needs a termite report, and on what form. For a VA loan on a Texas home, the answer is yes.
- Book the inspection inside the option period, while the Texas resale contract still gives you an unrestricted right to end the contract.
- Hire an inspector licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture in termite and wood destroying insect control, and make sure you get your own copy of the report on the state form.
- Read the diagram and the list of areas that could not be reached, not just the findings, because those are the places termites can hide.
- Settle any treatment in writing with the seller, since the resale contract leaves lender-required termite treatment unpaid unless the two of you agree.
How Pest Me Off helps Collin County home buyers
Pest Me Off issues the official Texas termite report for home sales, the Texas Department of Agriculture’s wood destroying insect report. Our licensed inspector fills it in on the department’s own form, the one the Texas rule on real estate termite reports requires for any termite report made for a home sale, and you get your own copy to share with your lender, your agent and the seller. Book it early in your option period by calling (972) 866-4720 or asking for it on a free estimate request.
When the termite report on a house you are buying shows termites or past treatment, Pest Me Off can take a second look. Our free termite inspection is done by a licensed applicator who confirms the species and uses in-wall detection to find where termites are feeding, which is the detail you need to settle termite treatment with the seller before closing.
Same-day inspections are available for McKinney and the surrounding cities when you call before noon, with no-contract options.
Buying a home in Collin County? We issue the official Texas termite report.
Our licensed inspector writes the Texas Department of Agriculture’s wood destroying insect report on the state form, ready for your lender and the seller. If a report shows termites or past treatment, a licensed applicator checks the house, confirms the species and maps where termites are feeding, so you know what to settle with the seller before closing. That second look is a free inspection, with no-contract options.
