Above grade / the loan file
VA Loan Termite Inspections in Virginia
Hampton Roads runs on VA loans, and VA loans run on clear termite reports. Here is how the requirement works and how to keep it off your critical path.
Required, yes
Virginia is a state where the VA requires a wood destroying insect inspection.
A VA backed purchase here needs an NPMA-33 report, generally dated within 90 days of closing, before the loan can fund.
The Department of Veterans Affairs requires a wood destroying insect inspection for VA backed purchases in states where termite pressure is significant, and Virginia is on that list. Around Naval Station Norfolk, Oceana, Langley, Fort Eustis, and the shipyards, that translates to thousands of closings a year that cannot fund without an NPMA-33 report showing the home is clear or has been properly treated.
The inspection is not a formality. It is a funding condition with a date on it.
What the VA actually requires
01The report
An NPMA-33 for the property Generally dated within 90 days of closing. The form is standardized, so underwriters read it the same way every time.
Full line by line breakdown in the NPMA-33 explainer.
02If activity is found
Evidence of treatment An active infestation has to be treated and documented before the file moves.
Treatment schedules in days here. The paperwork follows the work.
03If damage is visible
Repairs or further evaluation Lenders may require the damage repaired, or evaluated by a qualified contractor, before funding.
This is the item with the longest lead time, so price it first.
One visit, both documents
The inspection is a specialized pass focused on the five wood destroying insects Virginia reports on, which is different from the general home inspection. Many of our military buyers bundle both through our BrickKicker home inspection partnership so the house is opened once and both reports land together.
Who pays, and what changed in 2022
For decades VA rules barred the veteran from paying the termite inspection fee on a purchase, which is why Virginia contracts traditionally assigned it to the seller. The VA changed that policy in 2022, and buyers may now pay. Contracts in Hampton Roads go both ways today, and the fee itself is modest either way; see our termite letter cost guide for numbers.
Grade level
Everything the report can say about your house gets decided under it, in the hour the inspector spends below the floor.
Sequencing
Keeping it off your critical path
We built the workflow against the two failure modes, because both of them are scheduling problems wearing a technical costume.
- 01 Not at ratification, not the week of
Order it when the date is real
The report becomes a problem in exactly two situations: nobody ordered it until the week of closing, or it came back with findings and the corrective work stalled.
- 02 Same day and next day when available
Priority routing for real estate files
Transaction inspections get routed ahead of routine work, because a contract clock does not pause while a truck finishes a service route.
- 03 One company, one timeline
Corrective work quoted off our own report
When a report needs treatment or repairs to clear, our crews quote the work immediately rather than handing you a paragraph and a phone book.
- 04 The loop closes on paper
Updated documentation to the lender
The work gets completed and the revised paperwork goes back to the file, so nothing sits waiting while a rate lock burns.
Military families: tell us your report date and your closing date when you book, and we will slot the inspection where it protects both. We are veteran owned, and PCS math is math we know personally.
End of the descent
PCS clock running?
Same-day appointments are often available across Hampton Roads. Call or send the form and we will confirm your time window.
Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Licensed and insured in Virginia.