When you buy a home using your VA home loan benefits, you may be required to have a termite or pest inspection on the property before it can be approved for a VA mortgage.
General VA Loan Pest Inspection Requirements
The VA Lender’s Handbook, VA Pamphlet 26-7, states that a VA appraiser must note, “if the property is located in an area where the probability of termite infestation is ‘very heavy’ or ‘moderate to heavy’ according to the Termite Infestation Probability Map” which is published by the Council of American Building Officials (CABO).
VA.gov adds, “Unless otherwise noted, wood-destroying insect information is required,” as instructed in the VA Lender’s Handbook. No matter where the home is located, “an inspection is always required if the appraisal report indicates evidence of wood-destroying insect damage or an active insect infestation”.
VA Loan Pest Inspection Requirements By State
What follows is a list of termite and pest inspection requirements by state. The information is current at press time but you may wish to check in your local area to see if these rules have been modified by legislation or other variables.
ALABAMA
No additional requirements to what is mentioned above.
ALASKA
According to VA.gov, wood-destroying insect information is “not generally required.”
ARIZONA
No additional requirements listed.
ARKANSAS
Wood-destroying insect information is required.
CALIFORNIA
No additional pest inspection requirements listed.
COLORADO
The Department of Veterans Affairs does not require Wood Destroying Insect Information on properties in the State of Colorado “unless the VA appraisal indicates Wood Destroying Insect infestation or a condition conducive to infestation.”
CONNECTICUT
No additional requirements.
DELAWARE
No additional requirements.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
No local requirements listed.
FLORIDA
No additional VA pest control inspection requirements listed.
GEORGIA
No local requirements listed.
HAWAII
The following information applies in Hawaii. “Wood Destroying Insect Inspections are required on all existing residential properties, including condominium projects that are 5 stories or less in height, due to the high probability of termite infestation in the area.”
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Hawaii mandates that Wood Destroying Insect Inspections are reported on a PC-9 Form effective for 15 days total. However, “For the purposes of closing the loan, the VA considers the Wood Destroying Insect Inspection and the PC-9 Form to be valid for 90 days.” This extended validity is only for VA loans and does not affect warranties “that the property is free from wood destroying insects to 90 days.”
IDAHO
No additional requirements.
ILLINOIS
No local requirements listed.
INDIANA
No local requirements listed.
IOWA
No local requirements listed.
KANSAS
No local requirements listed.
KENTUCKY
No local requirements listed.
LOUISIANA
Wood-destroying insect information is required.
MAINE
VA literature states that “Wood-destroying insect information is not generally required.”
MARYLAND
No local requirements listed.
MASSACHUSETTS
No additional requirements.
MICHIGAN
Wood-destroying insect information is “required for all properties” in these counties in the state of Michigan:
- Allegan
- Barry
- Berrien
- Branch
- Calhoun
- Cass
- Hillsdale
- Ionia
- Jackson
- Kalamazoo
- Kent
- Lenawee
- Livingston
- Macomb
- Mason
- Monroe
- Muskegon
- Oakland
- Oceana
- Ottawa
- Clair
- Joseph
- VanBuren
- Washtenaw
- Wayne
MINNESOTA
VA.gov indicates, “Wood-destroying insect information is not generally required.”
MISSISSIPPI
No additional requirements listed for pest inspections.
MISSOURI
“No local requirements.”
MONTANA
Wood-destroying insect information is “not generally required.”
NEBRASKA
Pest information/wood destroying insect information is required for all Nebraska properties.
NEVADA
No additional requirements listed.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Wood-destroying insect information is required “only for the southern New Hampshire counties” including:
- Cheshire
- Sullivan
- Merrimack
- Rockingham
- Belknap
- Hillsborough
- Strafford
NEW JERSEY
No additional requirements.
NEW MEXICO
No local requirements listed.
NEW YORK
Wood-destroying insect information is required for all properties in these New York Counties:
- Bronx
- Broome
- Columbia
- Delaware
- Dutchess
- Greene
- Kings
- Nassau
- New York
- Orange
- Putnam
- Queens
- Richmond
- Rockland
- Suffolk
- Sullivan
- Ulster
NORTH CAROLINA
No local requirements listed.
NORTH DAKOTA
Wood-destroying insect information “is not generally required”.
OHIO
No local requirements listed.
OKLAHOMA
Wood-destroying insect information is required.
OREGON
No local requirements listed.
PENNSYLVANIA
No additional pest inspection requirements listed.
PUERTO RICO
Wood-destroying insect information is required in cases where any part of the property is made of wood “not pressure treated in conformance with American Wood Preservers Institute (A.W.P.I) standards.”
RHODE ISLAND
No local requirements listed.
SOUTH CAROLINA
No local requirements listed.
SOUTH DAKOTA
No local requirements listed.
TENNESSEE
No local requirements listed.
TEXAS
Wood-destroying insect information is required.
UTAH
Wood-destroying insect information is required “for all Utah properties.”
VERMONT
At press time, wood-destroying insect information is required “only in the southern Vermont counties of Bennington and Windham.”
VIRGINIA
No local requirements listed.
WASHINGTON
Wood-destroying insect information is “not generally required”, however, “when an inspection is necessary the State requires that it identify rot and conditions conducive to rot” according to VA.gov.
WEST VIRGINIA
No local requirements listed.
WISCONSIN
Wood-destroying insect information is required in the following counties:
- Columbia
- Crawford
- Dane
- Dodge
- Grant
- Green
- Iowa
- Jefferson
- Kenosha
- Lafayette
- Milwaukee
- Ozaukee
- Racine
- Richland
- Rock
- Sauk
- Vernon
- Walworth
- Washington
- Waukesha
WYOMING
No local requirements listed.
Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News
