Above grade / due diligence
Termite Bond Transfers: What Buyers Should Ask
A seller who says the house has a termite bond has told you almost nothing. Seven questions separate real transferable coverage from an expired piece of paper.
Ask seven things
Termite bond is shorthand, not a defined product.
Seven questions, put to the seller in writing before the due diligence window closes, tell you whether you are inheriting coverage or a photocopy.
What a termite bond actually is
In this market, termite bond is shorthand for some agreement that covers the house against termites after a treatment. The details vary wildly. Some are re-treatment guarantees, some add repair coverage, most require annual renewals, and many quietly died years ago when a renewal lapsed.
Real transferable coverage is genuinely valuable at purchase: it usually means the soil around the house was professionally treated, and that if termites return, the re-treatment bill lands on the treating company instead of you. Your job before closing is to find out which kind you are inheriting.
A guarantee with no treatment record behind it is a rumor.
Put these in writing
Seven questions for the seller
Through your agent, before the due diligence window closes. Two of them are where buyers most often lose coverage they already paid for.
- 01 The anchor document
Ask for the original treatment record
Date, method, and the company that did the work. A liquid soil treatment with a document behind it is the anchor; a guarantee with no treatment record behind it is a rumor.
- 02 A guarantee is only as good as the operator
Confirm the treating company still exists
If the company folded or sold, ask who assumed its obligations, and get that in writing.
- 03 These are very different documents
Pin down re-treatment versus repair coverage
Most agreements in our market cover re-treatment only: the company treats again if termites return. Repair coverage that pays for damaged wood is rarer and reads very differently. Know which one you are buying.
- 04 Many bonds die at a missed renewal
Check the renewal status
Many bonds require an annual renewal fee and an inspection to stay alive. Ask whether it is current, what the renewal costs, and when the next one is due.
- 05 The most common way buyers lose coverage
Get the transfer terms
Does coverage follow the structure automatically, or does a transfer require a fee, a form, or notice within a set number of days after closing? Missed transfer deadlines are how buyers lose coverage they already paid for.
- 06 Grade, mulch, and missed inspections
Read the fine print obligations
Some agreements void themselves if the homeowner alters grade, adds mulch against the foundation, or skips inspections. Know what the paperwork expects of you.
- 07 Resolve conflicts before settlement
Match the coverage to the WDI report
Your NPMA-33 will note evidence of previous treatment. If the report and the paperwork disagree about what was treated and when, resolve that before settlement, not after.
Grade level
Whatever the paperwork says, the thing it describes is a band of treated soil in the ground around the foundation. That is the asset you are buying.
What the answers are worth
Strong answers, meaning a documented treatment, a living company, current renewals, and clean transfer terms, are worth real money and real leverage. Weak answers do not have to kill the deal; they just reprice it. A lapsed bond on a house with old termite evidence is a negotiation point, and the WDI report gives you the vocabulary for it. Sellers who surface this paperwork early tend to keep their closings calm, which is the whole thesis of our guide to selling a house with termite history.
How our transferable guarantee works at closing
When we perform a qualifying liquid termite treatment, the structure carries a 10 year re-treatment guarantee, and it transfers with the structure. Not with the owner: with the house. If the home sells in year four, the buyer inherits the remaining coverage, and if termites return to a covered structure, we treat again. The details live on our guarantee page, and the treatment record we issue is exactly the paperwork this checklist tells buyers to demand.
One local wrinkle worth naming: with military PCS timelines compressing so many Hampton Roads closings, guarantee questions often surface with two weeks left. Do not let that happen to yours. If the seller answers are thin or the paperwork contradicts itself, call 757-583-4444 and we will read it with you before you sign.
End of the descent
Buying a house with termite paperwork?
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