Mack Exterminating Co. offers Real Estate Inspections for $85 which includes the first re-inspection free. Mack’s records the inspection on the ODAFF-1 certificate and within 48 hours emails the certificate and invoice (unless paid at the inspection) to the Title Company and closer where the sale is closing, plus a copy to the selling agent. Mack’s also provides the option to include wood rot damage (WRD) in the report, as a service to the buyer, if desired. Here are a few questions and answers about Real Estate Inspections:
1) What exactly are you looking for when you do a Termite Inspection? Answer: Any wood destroying organism to include termites, carpent ants, carpenter bees, and wood boring beetles.
2)After a Termite Inspection is ordered and done, what is done with it and where does it go? Answer: A copy is filed at Mack’s, when it is lender required, a copy goes to the title company where the real estate transaction is closing for buyer and seller signatures then a copy goes to the buyer’s agent for their files. When it’s not a lender requirement usually the buyer and the buyer’s agent get copies.
3)What are ‘Conducive Conditions’ and what effect do they have on the Termite Certificate? Answer: Conducive means-to lead or contribute to a result. Conducive Conditions means a condition that could lead to a problematic result. ie:Bushes up against the house; a stack of fire wood on the groand next to the house; any wood, deck posts or porch posts, touching the ground or over a crack in concrete; tree limbs touching the roof; and the list goes on.
4)My seller has swarming bugs and cannot tell if they are ants or termites, can you? Answer: First, understand that termites and ants, when swarming, are only trying to pair off and fly away to start a new colony, not do damage to the structure. There are workers for that. But the physical differences are: termites have straight bead-like antennae and ants have elbowed or bent antennae; termites are soft bodied with a thick waist and ants are hard bodied with a tiny waist (thorax); both have two sets of wings but the termites are of equal length and lay flat against the abdomen but ants are unequal in length and are held above the abdomen.
5)What do Carpenter Ants do? Answer: They do not eat wood but they more or less ‘excavate’ wood. They nest in the excavation and lay eggs for reproduction. They do less damage than termites but over time if not treated can do considerable damage.
6)My buyer had a Termite Inspection done four months ago but because of financial issues can not close for two more weeks, is his report still applicable? Answer: No. In Oklahoma, the Federal Government says the report stands for 90 days.