Termite Inspections When You Buy or Sell a Home in Magnolia, TX

What is the Texas Official Wood Destroying Insect Report?

It is the state form a pest control business must use whenever it reports on termites and other wood-destroying insects for a Texas real estate transaction. It records visible signs of active or past infestation, evidence of earlier treatment, conditions that invite termites, and the parts of the house the inspector couldn't reach.

The Texas Department of Agriculture's Structural Pest Control Service sets the form and the inspection rules behind it. Companies may not change its wording, though they can attach photos, a larger diagram of the house or extra notes as an addendum. As a result, a report from one company reads much like a report from another, which makes them easier to compare.

Termites are the headline, but the rule reaches further. The inspector notes termite tubes, live insects, and the small exit holes or powdery frass that wood-boring beetles leave in trim and framing.

Know its limits, too. The report isn't a structural engineering opinion, a moisture survey or a statement about what sits inside a finished wall.

Beyond insects, the form records conducive conditions, the things that make a house easier for termites to reach. The inspector may note:

• Wood touching soil, such as fence posts, trim or siding
• Form boards left in the ground after the slab was poured
• Excess moisture from leaks, sprinklers or poor drainage
• Scrap wood and debris around the foundation
• A soil or mulch line too high on the slab
• Heavy shrubs, planter boxes, woodpiles or wooden fences touching the house

Who orders the WDI report, and who pays for it?

The buyer usually orders and pays for the WDI report, often booking it the same week as the general home inspection. Some sellers order one before listing so there are no surprises, and a VA lender may require one. Who pays is negotiable, so check the contract and talk with your agent before you schedule.

Whoever orders it, the inspection has to be done by someone licensed by the TDA in the termite and wood-destroying insect category. A general home inspector working under a Texas Real Estate Commission license looks at the whole house but can't say whether termites caused damage unless they also hold that TDA license. Any Texas pest control company should give you its TDA license number on request.

A pre-listing report can pay off for sellers in busy subdivisions such as Audubon and Mostyn Manor, where buyers tour several similar slab homes in one afternoon. If the inspector flags a mulch bed over the slab line or an old mud tube, the seller has time to fix it and document the fix before photos go online.

Buyers can read a seller's existing report, but a fresh inspection is the cleaner choice. The report reflects a single day, and conditions around a house can change after one wet spring.

What does the inspector check on a slab-on-grade home in Magnolia?

Most newer Magnolia homes sit on a concrete slab, so the inspector follows every line where soil meets the house: the exposed slab edge, the bottom of the brick or stone veneer, garage joints and pipes rising through the concrete. Inside, door casings, baseboards and tub access panels get a close look, along with any reachable attic space.

Slab houses hide termites well. Workers can travel up through a hairline crack, the open soil around a bath trap or the gap behind veneer that runs below grade, reaching wall framing without ever showing outside. That's why so much of the visit happens on hands and knees along the foundation.

State rules call for examining visible, accessible areas, not the inside of hollow walls or the space under finished floors. On wooded lots in High Meadow Ranch and along Spring Creek, deep flowerbeds, firewood, wood decks and fences built tight against the brick often block part of the view, and the report lists those spots.

A few older houses near downtown Magnolia and on acreage off FM 1774 are raised on piers instead of a slab. For those, the inspector crawls underneath, so make sure the access opening isn't blocked by stored lumber or a locked panel.

Do lenders require a termite inspection in Texas?

Some do. VA-backed loans in Texas commonly require a wood-destroying insect report, and FHA or conventional lenders may ask for one when an appraiser notes possible termite damage. Requirements change and vary by lender, so ask your loan officer early which report they accept and how recent the inspection must be at closing.

Many lenders want the report dated within a set window before closing, often somewhere between 30 and 90 days. If closing slips because of a repair or an appraisal delay, the report can go stale, so build a few extra days into the schedule.

An appraiser isn't a termite inspector, but if mud tubes or damaged trim show up during the appraisal walk-through, the lender may hold the loan until a WDI report and any needed treatment are on file.

Cash buyers and borrowers whose loan doesn't call for a report usually order one anyway. Repairing termite-damaged framing on a wooded Montgomery County lot can cost many times the price of the inspection, and the report gives you a written baseline for future yearly checks.

When should you schedule the WDI inspection before closing?

Book it as soon as your offer is accepted, ideally in the first days of the option period, which in many Texas contracts runs about a week to ten days. That leaves time to get a treatment quote and negotiate if termites turn up. Sellers who want a report in hand should book it before the house is listed.

Texas closings move quickly, especially on new construction along SH 249, where the builder sets the calendar. A termite question raised on day eight of a ten-day option period leaves little room to negotiate, so here is a simple order of events.

• Offer accepted: schedule the WDI inspection and the general home inspection for the same week.
• Before the visit: unlock side gates, clear stored items from garage walls, open the attic hatch and uncover the tub access panel.
• Report in hand: review it with your agent and mark any active infestation, past treatment or conducive conditions.
• Termites found: get a written treatment quote and settle who pays before the option period ends.
• Before closing: make sure the lender has the report and, if treatment was done, a copy of the service report.

What happens if the report shows termites or old damage?

Active termites rarely end a deal; they start a negotiation. The buyer typically asks the seller to treat before closing, credit the cost or lower the price. The treatment choice, liquid termiticide in the soil or a monitored bait system, should be written down, and any damaged wood may need a separate repair estimate from a contractor.

Old damage without proof of treatment is a gray area. Ask the seller for past service reports; a treatment diagram or a bait monitoring log shows what was done and when. With no paperwork, many buyers ask for treatment anyway.

Conducive conditions are the most frequent findings, and most cost little to fix. Pull mulch back from the slab, move the woodpile, trim shrubs off the brick and re-route the AC drain line so it doesn't drip at the foundation.

The ranges below are estimates, and the exact price is confirmed before any treatment starts. Our pricing page shows how termite work compares with other services, or call (281) 326-6212 to book a report.

What paperwork helps a seller when termites come up?

Gather every termite record you have: the builder's pre-construction treatment paperwork, service reports from past treatments, a treatment diagram, bait monitoring logs and repair invoices. These show a buyer what was done and when. They also help you answer the termite questions on the Texas seller's disclosure notice accurately and completely.

Many newer homes in subdivisions off FM 1488 and SH 249 were treated before the slab was poured, and the builder's paperwork shows the date and the product used. Our pre-construction termite treatment page explains what that treatment does and why it doesn't protect a house indefinitely.

If a bait system is in place, ask whether the monitoring agreement can move to the buyer and what it costs each year. Buyers like knowing that monitoring continues the day they get the keys.

Honest answers protect the seller, too. A disclosed, treated problem becomes a line item in the negotiation, while one that surfaces after closing can turn into a dispute.

Should you keep up termite inspections after closing?

Yes. A WDI report is a snapshot for the sale, not ongoing protection. Plan a yearly termite inspection, keep mulch and sprinkler spray off the slab, and watch for swarmers on warm spring days. Starting a record in your first year catches problems early and makes your own future sale simpler.

Eastern subterranean termites are active across Montgomery County, and Formosan termites are established in the Houston region, so a clean report at closing doesn't settle the question for good. Our termite inspection service covers yearly checks, and the termite swarm season guide shows what to watch for each spring.