Buying a House With Termites

As a full-time home inspector in North Carolina, John Hagan knows what he is talking about when it comes to termite infestations. In this article, the owner of Hagan Home Inspections tells us what homebuyers should do if they suspect termites are in their potential home.

There’s no better way to determine whether a home has termites than by getting down and having a look. And as a home inspector, that’s exactly what I do. With a good flashlight, I get down and look closely and the homes I’m inspecting for any signs of termite damage or termite infestation.

A good home inspector (like myself) has numerous contacts within the home repair community. So whether a homeowner discovers a termite infestation himself, or if a home inspector finds the problem during his inspection, it is always best to hire a certified termite inspector to control the problem and find the solution.

Here at Hagan Home Inspections, I have partnerships with local termite inspection companies in North Carolina. That means my clients don’t have to lift a finger because I can call one of my termite inspectors and have him come to the job site. And we will take care of the whole issue.

Oftentimes, termite inspectors will inspect the crawl space or basement (if the home has one), looking for signs of damage that could have been caused by termites. A good inspector will also ask to go through the attic of the house to determine whether there is any damage up there caused by an infestation.

As a home inspector, I come across people who are concerned about termite infestations all the time. Either they are homeowners concerned it could hurt their chances of selling their home or buyers who don’t want to purchase a home that already has a problem.

For the most part, though, homeowners and homebuyers are overly concerned about termites, and the belief that termites can cause structural damage to a home is largely unfounded. A lot of people think that the home they are buying might have structural damage because of the termites, and oftentimes that can actually scare them off from buying the home. But more often than not, once the reality gets explained to them, these buyers are still willing to go through with the purchase because they realize how rare it is for an infestation to lead to structural damage.

When it comes to termites, the reality is that termite infestation actually leads to structural problems in a home in extreme cases. I have seen that a few times, of course. But usually when a home has damage from termites that is an easy problem to fix by calling a termite inspector and having him treat the problem.

As someone who works with homebuyers every day, I my biggest advice would be to avoid getting overly upset if the home you are planning to buy has termite damage. In the majority of cases, that damage is not big enough to prevent a home purchase, and these types of issues are can be easily fixed by calling an exterminator.