You may be wondering why you would want to have a property inspected for pests before you buy it. The answer is simple; an unidentified issue with pests can end up costing you thousands of dollars. This can turn a great home purchase into a nightmare.

It makes sense to find out more about pre-sale pest inspections, before you sign the contract of sale. One of the most important factors you need to think about is who should pay for the inspection, and any resulting work, you or the seller of the property?

  • Does a pest problem have to be disclosed?

The short answer to this question is yes. It’s illegal for a seller to sell a property and not disclose that there is a pest problem. However, not every seller will have a pest inspection carried out before they put their property on the market; pre-sale property pest inspections are not a legal requirement in many states. General state property inspections are usually more concerned with the safety of a property than any potential pest problems. They include the inspection of areas such as:

  • Plumbing.
  • Electrics.
  • Structure of the property and foundations.

Even if a pest inspection has been carried out, there is a chance that the results may not be reliable, depending on the quality of the inspection.

  • The advantages of paying for a pest inspection

Obviously, you want to make the home buying process as simple and cost effective as possible. This being the case, you may be wondering why you would want to pay for a pest inspection. The fact is that pests such as termites can cause a considerable amount of damage if their presence is not detected. You do not want to be in a situation where you buy a house only to find out, months later, that there is a serious termite problem.

If the person who is selling the property has not paid for a pest inspection to be carried out, or you do not trust the results of the inspection that has been completed, paying for an inspection could be a good investment. Doing so means that you get to find out more info about the most reputable pest inspection professionals locally (like Aptive Exterminators) and hire the person who you think will provide the most efficient service.

Once you have the results of the pest inspection, you can discuss any issues with the seller. If the problems are very severe you may want to withdraw from the sale. Alternatively, you can ask the seller to deal with any problems before the sale goes through, or to reduce the sale price in recognition of the work that needs to be carried out.

It may be that the seller of the property, already has the results of a pest control inspection to show you, and that you are satisfied with them. However, if you have any doubts, it’s worth paying for your own pest inspection of the property, before you commit to buy.