What Every Gulf Coast Buyer Should Know About Termites

By Bryan David

Bryan David is one of the best REALTORS® serving Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Gulfport and the entire coast. He is a Biloxi native, military veteran and retiree, and a multi-year top-producing agent with hundreds of satisfied clients.

If you’re buying a home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, you’re almost certainly going to end up with a wood-destroying insect report, or WDIR, before you close.

In fact, we have a saying: There are two kinds of homes. The ones that have termites and the ones that will get them.

Most people just call it the termite inspection and skim it. That’s a mistake, because a few things about it can change what you ask for, what you pay, and even which house you buy.

The report covers more than termites, and every company hands you the identical form. Termites are on it, but so are carpenter ants, carpenter bees, and wood-boring beetles - anything that eats or tunnels through wood. People are also sometimes caught off guard because the state sets the form, so every licensed company in Mississippi fills out the exact same report. Paying more doesn’t buy a more thorough document. The only variable that matters is the inspector, so hire someone licensed with a real reputation on the coast.

Order the inspection yourself, and don’t take a seller’s termite contract as proof the house is clean. Most of the time the buyer asks the seller to order and pay for it, but a seller chooses the inspector for their own reasons, not yours. For $100 to $200, you can order your own and keep control. You get to talk to the inspector directly, walk the property with them, and ask questions until the report makes sense to you.

And if termites do show up, don’t panic. Around here, that’s a normal Tuesday. The infested area gets opened up, the damage traced to where it stops, the bad wood comes out, and the home gets treated; sometimes a treatment alone does it. Your lender will almost always want that work finished before closing, with a licensed contractor certifying in writing that everything’s repaired and structurally sound. Add the treatment, the repairs, that certification, and a bond in your name, and you close on a house with a clean bill of health.

You can get ahead of trouble while you’re still touring. The biggest red flag I see is mulch shoved against the foundation. Most brick homes have weepholes, little slots in the mortar near the bottom row of brick that let the wall breathe, and when mulch or a flower bed buries them, you’ve built a superhighway for termites straight into the house.

So look for those weepholes, and if they’re covered, take note. Watch for wood meeting dirt, firewood leaning on the house, a deck too low to crawl under, and, above all, moisture. Termites go straight for water.

I once had a Gulfport listing where they climbed all the way to an upstairs window with a slow leak and chewed up the framing around it. That leak was an invitation, and any leak is.

Two things buyers almost always overlook.

• First, check whether an inspector can get under the home, because a crawlspace nobody fits into can’t be inspected, and anything they can’t reach goes in the notes. Read those notes; people skip that section.
• Second, ask specifically about outbuildings, the detached garage, shed, or mother-in-law suite, because the standard report leaves them out unless you ask.

If you’re selling, keep a current termite contract and address issues before you list. Mississippi requires you to disclose what you know about wood-destroying insects, and once damage is on the record, it follows the property into every future sale.

Without a current contract, get a WDIR done first and treat and certify whatever turns up. There’s a real difference between a buyer finding termites themselves and you handing them a report that says found, repaired, treated. One knocks thousands off your price. The other gets you to closing with far less stress.

None of this should scare you off the coast. A well-kept home with an active bond is usually a safe buy. You just need your own eyes on it.

If you’ve got questions about termite inspections, or know someone looking to buy, sell, or invest, we’d love to help. You can call at 228-215-1861, email bryan@expectrealty.com, or visit expectrealty.com. We always appreciate your referrals.