Real Estate WDO Report with Inaccessible Attic and Undocumented Prior Treatment
A licensed pest control company is asked to perform a WDO inspection for a buyer closing on a 1972 single-story ranch house in Tallahassee. The house is slab-on-grade, 1,650 square feet, with an attached garage and a low-pitch roof. The attic access is a 24-inch scuttle in a closet, blocked by stored boxes; the inspector can see only the first few feet. In the garage, the inspector finds a dried mud tube on the stem wall and a 1998 treatment sticker from another company. The seller says the house was treated for termites years ago but has no contract, graph, or chemical record. There is no live termite activity visible in the accessible areas. The buyer's agent asks for a clean report because the closing is in five days. The inspection takes 35 minutes.
1. What can and cannot the inspector report in this situation? Explain how the report should describe the visible evidence, the inaccessible attic, and the prior treatment.
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The inspector can report visible evidence and visible conditions, not a guarantee that the house is free of termites. A dried mud tube is evidence of prior subterranean termite activity, and the 1998 sticker is evidence of prior treatment. Both should be recorded. The report may state that no live termites were seen in the accessible areas, but it must qualify that statement and list the attic as inaccessible or only partially inspected. The inspector should not write clean, free of termites, or no wood-destroying organisms. The department-prescribed WDO form requires areas inspected, findings, inaccessible areas, and recommendations. The lack of treatment records is material: the inspector should note that prior treatment documentation was not available and recommend further evaluation by a qualified person. If the form includes a graph or diagram, the inspector should mark the garage finding and the inaccessible attic. The report should be signed by a certified operator or a special identification cardholder certified for WDO inspections. The five-day closing deadline does not justify omitting findings.
2. How should the inspector handle the seller's statement that the house was treated years ago but no records exist?
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The inspector should treat the statement as unverified information, not as proof of treatment. The report should say that the seller reported prior treatment and that a 1998 sticker was observed, but no contract, graph, or chemical record was provided. The inspector should not assume the treatment was effective or that it covered the entire structure. Prior treatment can mask or suppress activity, and the inspector should look for additional tubes, damage, and conditions conducive to termites. The inspector should recommend that the buyer obtain records from the prior company if possible, and that a full inspection or further evaluation be performed before closing. If the inspector knows the prior company, the buyer can request records, but the inspector should not promise that records exist. The report should distinguish between evidence of prior treatment and evidence of active infestation. This protects the buyer and keeps the report accurate.
3. The buyer's agent asks the inspector to limit the inspection to the garage and to issue a clean report because the attic is blocked. How should the inspector respond?
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The inspector should decline to issue a clean report based on a partial inspection. The inspector can perform a limited inspection if the client agrees, but the report must clearly state the scope and the limitations. If the attic is blocked, the inspector should ask that the stored boxes be moved or document why the attic was not entered. The report can say that no visible evidence was seen in the areas that were inspected, but it cannot say the house is free of wood-destroying organisms. The inspector should explain that the WDO report is not a warranty and that hidden termites can exist in inaccessible areas. If the buyer needs a report for closing, the inspector should recommend that access be provided or that the buyer accept a documented limited inspection. The inspector should not let the closing schedule dictate the findings. The final report should be accurate, complete, and signed by a qualified inspector.