Real estate termite inspections and escrow reports for Long Beach buyers and sellers

Section 1 lists what is wrong right now: live termites, active wood decay fungus and damage caused by either. These are the items lenders usually want cleared, because they affect the structure being financed. If the report shows drywood pellets coming from a rafter or a subterranean tube on a pier, that is a Section 1 finding with a treatment recommendation and often a repair item for damaged wood.

Section 2 lists conditions that are likely to lead to infestation or decay if left alone. Earth-to-wood contact at a fence post bolted to the house, a leaking shower pan, a planter built against stucco or excess moisture in the crawlspace are typical. They are real issues, but they are not active damage, and lenders often do not require them. Buyers and sellers decide between themselves whether to address them.

Further inspection items cover areas the inspector could not see, or saw evidence that points inside a closed space. A stained ceiling below a bathroom or pellets falling from a closed soffit are examples. The report recommends opening or accessing the area so it can be properly evaluated, and that follow-up can add findings.

Sellers have the most control before the inspection, not after. Clearing storage from garage walls and attic access, opening the crawlspace panel and fixing obvious leaks under sinks reduces both inaccessible areas and Section 2 findings. A tidy, reachable property produces a cleaner report and fewer further inspection items that stall escrow.

If you suspect drywood activity, consider ordering the inspection before listing. A pre-listing report lets you choose between fumigation and local treatment on your own schedule, rather than under a buyer deadline. It also lets you price the home knowing what the clearance work will cost.

• Order the report early so treatment and repair fit the timeline
• Fix dripping hose bibs and sprinkler heads that spray onto siding
• Pull soil and mulch down so wood siding is not buried
• Keep receipts from any prior treatment for the inspector to review

Start with the diagram and walk the house with it. Every numbered finding should match a real place you can see. Pay attention to the inaccessible list, because a long one means part of the house was never evaluated. Ask whether further inspection items will be opened before close, and who will pay if they reveal more damage.

Look at the recommended treatment for each Section 1 item. If drywood activity appears in several separate rooms and the attic, a whole-structure fumigation recommendation is common and reasonable. If the report recommends a local treatment for widespread activity, ask how hidden colonies will be handled. Finally, confirm that the completion notice will be issued before close, since that is the document that shows the work was actually done.

If anything in the report is unclear, call and ask. We would rather explain a finding before close than have a buyer discover after move-in that a further inspection item was never opened.

Older districts produce the longest reports. A 1920s bungalow in Rose Park or Belmont Heights on a raised foundation often shows drywood activity in rafter tails and window trim, some earth-to-wood contact at porch steps, and a crawlspace with old plumbing leaks. Those homes are worth inspecting early in escrow because wood replacement on porches and eaves takes time to schedule.

Slab-built ranch homes in Los Altos and El Dorado Park Estates tend to have shorter reports, but attic drywood colonies and subterranean activity at the garage slab edge come up regularly. Downtown and in Alamitos Beach, condo sales often involve the association, because exterior walls, balconies and attics belong to the common area and the HOA may control treatment. Canal-front homes in Naples add dampwood findings on wood near the seawall and on docks, which buyers should read as both a termite and a moisture item. Bluff Park homes facing the ocean add rot on the ocean side, which often lands in Section 1 as fungus damage rather than termite damage.