We are in the process of purchasing a rental property and found signs of drywood termites during the WDI inspection. The Seller seems willing to treat the termites… which for drywood termites means tenting the structure (as I understand)… but my main concern is determining the extent of the damage. I assume the only way to do this is to start removing sheetrock where you see signs of WDI and keep going until you don't see anymore damage. But, is there a better and less destructive way to determine the extent of the damage? We are still interested in the house but I have to quantify the extent of the structural damage so I can negotiate properly with the Seller. Any advice would be appreciated!

Honest question, but what did your realtor say?

The termite inspector should be able to tell you. I think the essentially poke the studs to feel for resistance.

My realtor is following the WDI inspectors lead and they are both managing it great. The inspector is coordinating with an exterminator to develop pricing for treatment and then is going to coordinate structural inspection. I'm just doing my own research and due diligence.

I had one deal where my sellers had termites. They didn't have to tent the house and the termites were only confined to the kitchen. They had to replace the kitchen island and just stay on top of their termite treatments. Was there a history of WDIs in the seller's disclosure?

Have worked in hundreds of homes over the past 30 years and have only seen one serious damaged one from termite damage where we had to reframe multiple areas of the structure . I can't remember exactly but it was caused by either the owner ignoring or not knowing they were there due to tenants never notifying the owner. Have also repaired lots of structural termite damage and pretty much every case was minor unless they were ignored and allowed to stay longer term. If it was me I would put multiple sets of eyes on it. A good inspector will show you the signs if they were there or are still present. The most important thing is to get a treatment plan going for active or even future activity.

No. SD had "N" checked on all of the WDI items. I think they were surprised by it as well.

A question for the realtors... in the future, when I go to sell this house and have to check the "yes" box on "Previous treatment for termites" and on "Previous termite damage repaired," will that negatively affect what I can sell the house for?

Does previous termite infestations result in a lower selling price for a house?

Red Pear Felipe said:

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I had one deal where my sellers had termites. They didn't have to tent the house and the termites were only confined to the kitchen. They had to replace the kitchen island and just stay on top of their termite treatments. Was there a history of WDIs in the seller's disclosure?

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Man… I just dealt with drywood termites a few months back as did several people I know nearby where I live. All of us did localized treatments like this… and every one of us inevitably had to tent our homes within a few months.

Feels like your people are lucky if they haven't had to.