Above grade / the PDF in your inbox
How to Read Your WDI Report Without Panicking
The PDF from your agent is one dense form and a lot of checkboxes. Four of them decide everything. Here is the five-minute read, in plain language.
The ten second read
Find the findings section. Look for the box stating no visible evidence of wood destroying insects was observed.
If that box is checked and the list of areas the inspector could not reach is short, you are in good shape. Everything else is context.
Now the longer version, question by question, because the context is where deals get renegotiated.
What do the visible evidence boxes actually mean?
The form asks the inspector to report what was visible on the day of the inspection, and the word visible is doing heavy lifting. Checked evidence boxes mean the inspector saw something concrete: live insects, shelter tubes on a foundation wall, damaged wood, shed wings, or signs of a past treatment such as drill marks in mortar joints. An unchecked box is not a warranty that the house is termite free; it is a professional statement that nothing was observable in accessible areas that day. That distinction is the entire legal architecture of the document, and it is why the full NPMA-33 explainer calls it a snapshot, not an X-ray.
Is live evidence worse than previous evidence?
Different, more than worse. Live activity means insects working now, and it points toward a treatment conversation before closing. Evidence of previous infestation, old damage, old tubes, prior treatment marks, is extraordinarily common in Hampton Roads housing stock; a large share of homes past a few decades old carry some. What matters then is paper: when it was treated, by whom, and whether any guarantee survives. Old evidence with documentation is a Tuesday. Old evidence with no story behind it is a question mark your lender may want answered.
An unchecked box is a snapshot of what was visible, not an X-ray of the house.
Grade level
The next three questions are all about the same place: the part of your house the report could only partly see.
Do conducive conditions fail the report?
No. Conducive conditions are the setups that invite trouble: wood to soil contact, moisture under the house, wood debris in the crawl space, foliage against siding. Inspectors note them so the buyer knows what to correct, and most reports in this market list at least one, because our water table writes it for us. Lenders generally do not treat conducive conditions as a failure, but a sharp buyer treats the list as a maintenance plan for year one. The what actually fails a VA pest inspection guide draws that line precisely.
Why does the report list so many inaccessible areas?
Because crawl space construction dominates this region, and crawl spaces hide things. Sections behind ductwork, insulation covered sills, stored boxes in a garage, clearance under an addition too low to enter: whatever the inspector could not see gets listed, and no opinion is offered about it. Read this section closely. A report that excludes half the foundation is telling you where the risk actually lives. If the seller can clear the obstruction, a re-inspection of that area is a cheap answer.
What does further evaluation recommended trigger?
That phrase appears when the inspector saw damage and cannot certify what is underneath, since judging structural soundness is outside a WDI inspector lane. It hands the question to a qualified expert, and in practice that means someone opens up the area or a contractor prices the repair. On a financed deal, expect the lender to want that loop closed before closing, so start it early rather than the week of settlement.
The two edge cases buyers miss
01Dates
A report can age out Lenders typically want it dated within 30 to 90 days of closing, so one ordered at ratification can expire inside a delayed settlement.
Order once the closing date is realistic, not the moment the contract is signed.
02Scope
It is only about insects Which is why it is not a home inspection and never substitutes for one.
When the report in your hand needs a second opinion, our WDI team reads them all day. Call 757-583-4444.
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