5 tips to prepare your home for sale and avoid WDIR related issues
AAA Exterminating Co. has specialized in Wood Destroying Insect inspection reports or WDIRs for most of our existence. Over the years we have seen hundreds of homeowners and Realtors get very frustrated at problems found during an inspection that may end up costing more money, slowing down the closing process or even stopping the sale completely.
We decided to write this blog post to list 5 common things listed on WDIRs. That we believe could either be avoided or it could at least make you better prepared for dealing with some of the problems we encounter on a daily basis.
- Wood Debris in the crawl space: This one may not seem like a big deal but it is probably one of the most hot button issues that we as termite inspectors face when providing this service. Most of the time if there is a small amount of wood debris we will remove it for free as a courtesy, however if there is evidence of termites in the wood debris you may end up having to treat the entire structure or spot treating areas of the home which can be an expensive and sometimes unnecessary cost. To avoid this issue remove all wood debris from your crawl space.
- Garage walls inaccessible due to stored items: If your garage is full of storage when your home is inspected the Home inspector and termite inspector will have to list that they were not able to inspect the garage on their reports. This isn’t always an issue in fact most of the time nothing is said about this but every now and then a mortgage company will not except this and we will have to go back out to look at the garage. We don’t charge for this service but it may slow down the process. To avoid this issues clean out your garage before putting the house on the market and if you must store anything in the garage try to avoid storing items against the wall.
- House to ground contact: This is something we have to list when we find areas of the home made of untreated wood that have direct contact with the ground. The most common areas are the Crawl space access door frame and siding. This is very conducive to termites so to avoid this issue walk around the outside of your home and make sure you have at least 6 inches of clearance between the siding and the ground, also check your crawl space door and make sure the door frame is not touching the ground.
- Crawl space moisture: During a WDI report the inspector is required to use a moisture meter to determine the moisture level of the wooden floor system in the crawl space. If it is 20% or higher you may be required to install a vapor barrier, vent fans, sump pump or even a dehumidifier. Some times this can not be avoided but you can reduce the chances of this being necessary buy opening your foundation vents, trimming your shrubs so that they do not block vents, and checking your gutter down spouts to make sure they are not dumping water right next to the foundation.
- Termites!!: This is the big one! Termites found during a WDIR can be worrisome to the buyer and expensive to the seller. I highly recommend having your home inspected for termites before it is for sale. If your home has termites it will have to be treated when sold, but if you handle the termite issues before your home is ever put on the market. That part of the transaction will go much smoother. We offer a service called a pre market WDIR. We can inspect your home and let you know ahead of time what issues you may be facing and help you deal with them so that you real estate transaction doesn’t get held up or stopped by any WDIR related issues.