When buyers purchase a home, they can have several types of inspections performed. One of those is a pest inspection which checks for evidence of wood-damaging insects such as termites, carpenter bees and carpenter ants.
If such insects are found, the inspector is to note on the official form whether the insects are LIVE or DEAD, whether they have done any DAMAGE to the home, and whether there is evidence of any kind of TREATMENT having been done to try to control them.
Lots of us have bugs, like those in the photo, in the corners of our basements. Yucky little spiders, little pill-bugs, and fast-moving centipedes. Other than being creepy-crawly, they don’t do damage.
Most pest inspectors will thoroughly check the inside and outside of the home and go up into the crawl space in the basement or the attic, looking for harmful critters. They look into places that homeowners often avoid.
Because they are in these hidden areas, there is a certain level of trust that both buyers and sellers must have in the ethics of the inspector. It’s just too easy for them to “plant” dead bodies to convince the seller to pay for a treatment. After all, with the inspection only costing around $60, but with a treatment costing $200 and up, they make their money on the treatment. The company should do an honest, thorough inspection … not try to solicit extra business in the form of a treatment.
Several years ago I had an experience with a particular inspector who “found” carpenter ants in the home of my seller. The inspector left an invoice for the seller along with a couple partial dead bodies in a baggie. Just as the bugs in the photo, after awhile it’s hard to tell one bug from another when their body has decayed. Well, the inspector picked the wrong seller to try to scam. The seller was a PhD entomologist. He KNEW he didn’t have carpenter ants by the sump pump and KNEW that the partial body was a pill-bug not an ant.
Recently this same inspector was hired to do the inspection for a seller. I alerted the seller to be on the lookout and if the inspector should say that there were damaging insects, that he should be challenged to show evidence and damage.
It seems the inspector hasn’t changed his ways in the interim years. He magically found a dead carpenter ant but could not show any damage or any evidence of live ants. Oh yes … if the seller agreed to have the treatment RIGHT THEN it would only cost $200 but would cost $250 if he had to come back another day. The seller said ‘no, thanks’.
What is sad is that the buyer just spent money for an inspection that is perhaps meaningless. A good rule of thumb when hiring a pest inspector is to inquire whether they also do treatments or if they leave behind an invoice. If the inspector answers ‘yes’ to either question, it might be best to call someone else for the inspection. As a buyer, you want the inspector working for YOU, not focused on trying to scam the seller for additional money.
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Elaine Reese
614-825-8860Real Living HER
4 responses so far ↓
Carole Cohen // August 22, 2008 at 2:01 pm
fabulous advice and very detailed! I tell the buyer as we write the offer that we can check off ‘pest inspection in so many days’ along with a general inspection, then if the general inspection comes up with reasons to have a pest inspection we don’t have to get an amendment to the original offer. Usually we just sign off on it when the general insp. is done.
Your experience as a Realtor® is amazingly helpful to your clients!
Elaine Reese // August 22, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Our contracts here must be different than yours up there. We have an entire page devoted to inspections, their timing, the Remedy Request section, and what happens if both parties don’t come to agreement. The language is quite thorough.
Most lenders require that the wood-damaging inspection be done, and treatment must be done before closing.
The inspection phase has become “problematic” over the years! That’s why so many of us support having the State law changed to license the inspectors. In addition to forcing them to adhere to certain standards, it will provide a means to file a formal complaint against inspectors like the guy mentioned above.
Diana // December 8, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Those basement dwellers are crunchy and discussing when stepped on!
Elaine Reese // December 8, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Diana … ew-w-w-w … crunchy! Sounds like you’re as fond of bugs as I am!