Where's My Clear Termite Report?

One of the most common questions we get:  Where is my clear termite report? 

Our answer:  What is a clear termite report?

Here are some of the most common answers we get:  A report with no termites, (8B marked), a report with the conducive conditions all marked No (numbers 15, 16, 17, and 18 on the report), and my favorite, "nothing marked on report."

Let's start from the beginning.  There is no such thing as a clear report.
Look at 1B on the report.  The option is to check mark either Original Report or Supplemental Report.  No "clear report" option.  A Supplemental Report is a report completed within 30 days of the Original.

 I most often hear a realtor and/or escrow agent say that the lender is requiring a clear report.  The first thing to ask the lender is what they consider a clear report. Once they give you a definition, we can help.
The two most common cases that a lender is looking for are:  A report after a termite treatment is completed, or a report after some repairs on conducive conditions are done. 
As long as the treatment and/or repairs are finished, we can reinspect and issue a report.

The key point is, when someone in the transaction asks you for a clear report, get their specific definition.  It is surprising what they actually mean compared to your definition.  I have talked to lenders and they tell you that they don't care about Faulty Grades and just want the Excessive Moisture calls fixed.  Every lender is different.

It all boils down to this:  There is no such thing as a clear report, so get a definition of what is required in writing.

Question From The Field

 

 

Question:  I have a mobile home that your company inspected. It has a wood siding (skirt) that is in contact with the ground. You called it on the report as EC (Earth-To-Wood Contact).  I understand that, but another local termite inspection company said that since is was "Green Wood", it was exempt from calling.

 

Answer:   Green Wood and Pressure treated woods are great for helping against the fight of wood-destroying insects, but they are still wood. Thus the skirting would be an Earth-To-Wood Contact. Since this was such a unique question, I did contact the OPM (Office of Pest Management) to verify that our initial call was correct according to their rules. They confirmed that our call of EC was absolutely correct.

For these types of calls we add a little extra verbiage to the report such as " this is a common building feature."  These extra words seem to help the reader of the termite report get a much better sense of these types of calls.

Termites and Wagon Wheels

Sometimes the evidence of termites noted on a W.D.I.I.R. can be quite old, and found in objects you wouldn't normally consider.  As one STRIKE FORCE customer discovered when the termite inspection report for their home came back 8A "Visible evidence of wood-destroying insects."

Where was the evidence observed?  The culprit was a very old piece of wood, kept in the family as a relic; part of a covered wagon that their Grandfather rode in as a pioneer of the old west.  The wagon travelled from New York to Montana, over 2000 miles by today's roads.

Where that wagon picked up the termites can only be guessed at.  Termites certainly exist in New York state.  They could have started their journey with the wagon train that left New York, headed out west.  Or they might have picked the termites up as they camped along the way, somewhere on the long rough road to Montana.   Yet even Montana, with its arid climate and cold winters, has its share of termites.  The pioneering termites might have survived, and feasted slowly on the wagon, leaving behind the termite eaten wood that was eventually passed down in the family, to find its way on a termite inspection report in Arizona.

The owners of the bit of history probably never guessed it would impede the financing for the sale of their home.  As innocuous as this old wooden board seemed, it was leaning against the side of the home, and clearly had evidence of termites.  Hence, the 8A on the termite report.

The solution was a simple one, remove the wood.  The owner quickly took away the family relic, and STRIKE FORCE was able to issue a new report.   Not all solutions are as simple, but then, not all termite evidence is as unusual as the old piece of Grandpa's covered wagon.

Faulty Grades, or not?

Faulty Grades

This is an interesting and misunderstood term.  Let's start with the definition from the OPM (Office of Pest Management).

"Faulty grades exists if the exterior grade is above or at the interior slab or wood floor level.  All faulty grades are based upon the exterior grade."

It sounds simple enough until you read it on a termite report.  Especially when a lender reads it and sees "Faulty".  Everything comes to a halt, until "Faulty" is off of the report.

Faulty Grades can be broken into two categories:  1. Correctable.  2. Non Correctable.  These terms won't be on any termite report, but understanding the difference can really help you get the transaction moving forward.


1. Non Correctable (construction style)

These Faulty Grade calls are really about the way the home or building is constructed.  Examples of these are:  basements, sunken floor (aka step down living-rooms), sunken tubs, interior fire-pits (aka conversational pits), houses on hills that have slopes running to the back of the house or adjacent to the home, stucco exteriors that run into the grade.  Even though these are called Faulty Grades, they are highly desirable styles of construction. 
Take a house in Paradise Valley (85253 - the most costly zip code in the South West).  A home here could be:  built on a hill with slopes, have stucco exterior that runs into the grade (it doesn't stop above the grade exposing the stem wall), have basement or floor level built into the hillside, or any other type of slopes.  In this neighborhood these would be premium features.
For these types of calls we add a little extra verbiage to the report such as "this is a common call in the area."  These extra words seem to help the reader of the termite report get a much better sense of these type of Faulty Grades.

A special note about VA loans: 

When any of the calls on a report from 15, 16, 17, and 18 are check marked yes, the VA slows down the financing process.  Especially when number 17 Faulty Grade is marked yes.  The VA almost always states they can't finance a home with a Faulty Grade. 
Here is my standard question to the VA lender:  Do you finance homes with basements in Arizona?  Of course they do.  I then inform them that basements in Arizona are considered Faulty Grades.  The floor level is at or below the grade of the exterior.  They then start to understand and continue with the financing.  The above examples of construction style Faulty Grades are pretty much the same thing.


2.  Correctable

Correctable types of Faulty Grades are much easier, usually.  The types tend to be Faulty Grades that are essentially made and/or caused by owners of the home. 
A few examples:  A raised planter bed around the exterior of the home.  The construction of the planter bed could be stone, brick, block, wood, etc.  If the planter bed has three sides and the back wall is the wall of the home, then it is a Faulty Grade.  When you fill the planter with dirt, the dirt goes up against the house and above the level of the slab on the interior.  This can be pretty easy to correct.  You dig out the dirt, creating an air gap up against the house wall and planter.  This eliminates the Faulty Grade. 

Here is a great picture that illustrates the FG/Planter. The grade level (dirt level) of the planter on the exterior of the home, is higher that the floor level of the interior of the house. According to the OPM, this is a faulty grade.

Another common type of Faulty Grade is when home owners do landscaping; they create mounds of dirt that slope towards the house.  There are dozens of these types of calls.  The key is to see what the call is and look for a simple fix.

When it comes to Faulty Grades, usually a simple repair and/or extra verbiage on the report will keep the transaction moving on.

Below is an example of a Faulty Grade.  The red line shows the typical level of the dirt up against the house.  The pile of dirt creates a Faulty Grade.  This call would show up on the report as FG/high dirt level.