When working with a first-time home buyer, I am often asked, what is a pest report and why should I get one? It is important to get all inspections completed during your inspection contingency period including a basic home inspection, a pest inspection, roof, foundation, heating and electrical inspection. In some cases, the Seller will have obtained some of these reports and this can save you some money and in other cases you may not need to get all inspections completed which can run you a total of $200-$900 depending on what inspections you will need to obtain. However, in all cases you definitely want to make sure that a current pest inspection has been obtained and that will cost you a total of $175-$400 depending on the type of report and who you use. So, what is a pest inspection and what does it tell you?
If there is evidence of a pest problem, then a qualified termite control specialist will let you know what treatments are available to control existing termite issues and give you recommendations to help control the spread of termites in the future. However, if there is structural damage to the home, then you must call a structural engineer to assess the damage and recommend how to fix the issue. The Engineer and the pest control specialist are different and they look differently at the issue. Engineers look at the impact of the damage and pest control specialists look at the need for treatment.
It is extremely important to get a pest report and make sure you do your due diligence before removing your inspection contingency. Trying to save a couple of hundred bucks by not obtaining a report could lead you down a very expensive path of homeownership.
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