Being proactive and investing in a termite contract that is transferable to future owners may help you sell your New Orleans house faster.
What is legally required for Louisiana sellers, and how to be proactive in termite control whether you’re buying, selling, or staying put
Until you start preparing to sell your New Orleans home you might not even realize you have termites. Yet these insidious pests destroy numerous properties in Louisiana and other Southern states every year, causing significant structural damage.
If you want to sell your home quickly, it’s possible to avoid investing time and money in finding, addressing, and controlling a termite situation. But if you’re listing on the MLS, it’s beneficial to make the investment.
What Are the Signs of Termite Damage?
The most commonly found type of termite in Louisiana is the Formosan termite. They live in colonies numbering hundreds of thousands, and the queens can lay up to 1,000 eggs in a day. Termites feed on wood, which means they can cause damage to the house’s framing, floors, cabinets, and more.
Signs of termite activity include:
- Termite shelter tubes (packed-dirt trails along foundations, walls, doors, and windows)
- Subterranean tunnels
- Blowholes in trees
- Termite noises and swarming inside the house (if the bugs are not coming in from outside, which is common certain times of year)
- Piles of termite droppings in or around the home
- Presence of wings
- Sagging floors, or buckling wood floorboards
- Soft, hollow, and rotting wood
- Small holes in sheetrock
- Tree nests
Is a Termite Inspection Required?
All sellers in Louisiana are required by state law to make certain disclosures regarding the condition of the property, detailing any known defects on a Residential Property Disclosure form. One of the five sections in the statement, “Termites, Wood-Destroying Insects, and Organisms,” covers any property damage related to wood-destroying insects and whether it’s been repaired.
Being proactive and investing in a termite contract that is transferable to future owners may help you sell your house faster. Most pest control companies include an annual inspection with the contract, but experts also advise homeowners to perform their own checks every three months or so.
Getting a termite inspection is also a good idea if you’re a buyer. Although it’s not legally required, some lenders do require a Wood Destroying Insect Report, inspection, or certificate before a sale goes through. It may also be worth the cost to get a second opinion inspection in addition to your seller’s, and compare the two. A report is not error-proof, compared to a professionally issued certificate, because it can be based on the lack of “visible evidence” of termites “in readily accessible areas.”
Termites tend to avoid open air and bright lights, and prefer to stay within wood and underground. This is bad news for homeowners because it’s very hard to discover an active infestation by a surface visual inspection. Consider hiring a professional if you suspect any termite activity in your home.
What Exactly Is a Termite Inspection and How Much Does It Cost?
A termite inspection typically includes a visual inspection of the entire interior, including basements, attics, and crawlspaces, and the exterior. A Wood Destroying Insect Report form is used in Louisiana to report the findings (the form is not part of the home inspection report).
The total cost of a termite inspection typically includes labor costs, equipment and materials used, cleanup costs, and costs such as surface prep. In the state of Louisiana, the current average is $385, with the minimum estimated as $71 and the maximum as $700. Getting an estimate is always a good idea.
How Much Does Treatment Cost in New Orleans?
Subterranean chemical treatments include using termiticide and bait systems. If there’s no active infestation a ground treatment or a bait system will be used (or a combination of both).
If there’s an active infestation, tenting may be called for. In this procedure, the structure is wrapped in tarping, and a gas is pumped inside the house to kill the termites. This option costs $3,000 or more.
Homeowners insurance does not pay for termite damage or treatment. Depending on the treatment and the pest-control company you choose — as well as the size and type of the house — average ground treatment runs anywhere from $500-$1,000 for the initial treatment and $75-$250 annually after that. Bait system installation and first-year maintenance tend to run slightly higher.
Tips for Home Termite Control
For more information on insect control in Louisiana, check out these city-provided resources, and also a handy guide to Formosan termites and how to deal with them in the New Orleans area.
For more information on complying with Louisiana disclosure laws and what buyers should know about termite damage, contact our experienced New Orleans Realtors today.