The Official Georgia Wood Infestation Inspection Report, the termite letter used for property transfers, explained for Snellville homeowners.
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The Official Georgia Wood Infestation Inspection Report, often called the termite letter, is the written record of wood-destroying organisms and conditions that favor them. Georgia treats it as the basis for transferring real property, and only a company licensed in the wood-destroying-organisms category can issue it. It must describe what was found, where it is and whether the structure is apparently free of those organisms.
The Official Georgia Wood Infestation Inspection Report is a formal instrument. The Georgia Department of Agriculture describes it as the written instrument for reporting evidence of wood-destroying organisms and the conditions conducive to their infestation, and as the basis for transferring real property in the state. A homeowner in Snellville who is selling, or a buyer who is closing on a house here, is likely to see the name in the paperwork. Knowing what the report is and what it is not makes that paperwork easier to read.
The report is only as good as the inspection behind it. A technician must work from what can actually be seen, and the report has to describe findings so that an average reader can find them. Snellville's mix of post-1970 slab houses and older crawl-space houses changes what the inspector can reach, which is why the report is written around the house rather than a template. The termite inspection page explains how that inspection is done.
Phones are answered 24/7, so a question about whether a report is needed can be asked when the sale is being planned. Visits are booked when a technician is free, and the price is explained and approved before any work starts. To ask about a report, call (855) 974-4733.
Do not accept a report from a company you cannot verify, and do not assume that a report made for one sale covers another. Do not repair or remove wood that a report describes until a qualified evaluation has been arranged, because the evaluation depends on what is there. Read the limits and the diagram before closing, and ask the technician to explain any finding that is not clear. Keep the report with the closing papers, since the diagram is part of the record that the next buyer will look at.
The buyer, the lender or the closing party usually asks for the report, and the homeowner should confirm the exact requirement before the visit. The technician can explain what the report certifies and what it does not, so the request is met the first time.
The inspection covers the exterior, the interior and the crawl space or other spaces where wood-destroying organisms could be present. Anything that cannot be reached is noted, since the report has to be honest about what was checked and what was not.
Where evidence is found, the location is recorded and a diagram showing it is attached to the report. The diagram and the written findings must match, so each location can be found by someone who has never been in the house.
Georgia's guidance asks for technical terms to be kept to a minimum, because the report is written for the homeowner and the buyer. Findings are stated plainly, with the organism named and the location described. The report then states the conclusion the rule allows.
The report must show the company name, the license number and the address. Before accepting a report, a homeowner can check the company in the state's public license search, and the report should be issued only by a company licensed in the wood-destroying-organisms category.
The report certifies that the structure is apparently free of wood-destroying organisms on the day of the inspection. The wording matters, because it is a statement about what was seen, not a guarantee about what is hidden.
The rule frames the report as certifying that a structure is apparently free of wood-destroying organisms. That word, apparently, is deliberate. It means the inspector saw no evidence in the places that could be reached, and it does not promise that nothing is behind a wall or under a slab.
The report must disclose active or previous infestation of subterranean termites, powder-post beetles, wood-boring beetles, dry-wood termites and wood-decaying fungi, along with the location of each finding.
Each organism on the list is reported where it is found, and the location is described so an average reader can locate it. Where evidence is found, the diagram showing the location is attached, and the diagram and the report must agree. A finding that appears in the text but not on the diagram is a problem the technician must fix before the report is issued.
Where visible evidence of active or previous infestation is reported, some degree of damage should be assumed to be present. The extent of that damage is decided by a qualified inspector approved by the purchaser and the lender.
Visible evidence is a sign that the wood has been in contact with the organism, and the report does not put a number on how much of it has been damaged. The rule and the sample forms used by counties treat that as a question for a qualified evaluation rather than for the report itself.
The company name, the license number and the address must appear on the report, and the company can be checked in the state license search. Structural pest control workers must also carry an identification card issued by the department while performing services.
The license search covers structural pest companies, employees and operators, so both the company and the person who did the inspection can be checked. A report issued by a company without a license in the wood-destroying-organisms category is not a valid report under the rule.
The size of the house, the foundation type, how much of the structure can be reached and whether the job is a stand-alone report or part of a contract shape the price. No figure is printed on this page, and the price is explained and approved in writing before any work starts.
A slab house with a clear perimeter is usually quicker to report on than a crawl-space house with standing water, low clearance or a dirt floor. Each area that cannot be reached adds a limit to the report, and a buyer may ask for a return visit once access is possible.
When the inspection finds no evidence of wood-destroying organisms, the report says so, and it still has to describe the conditions that were checked. The conclusion is worded as the rule requires, which is that the structure is apparently free of those organisms on the day of the inspection. A clean report is still a report of what was seen.
When active infestation is found, the report discloses the organism and the location, and a diagram is attached. The report also states that some damage should be assumed where visible evidence exists, and that a qualified inspector approved by the buyer and the lender should evaluate the damage.
Previous infestation must be disclosed as well as active infestation. A report may show old damage or old activity that is no longer active, and the report says where it is. The buyer and lender decide what to do about it, and the technician describes the findings so they can make that decision.
Where a termite contract already covers the house, the report draws on that contract's diagram and annual inspection records. The two documents have to agree, so the technician checks them against each other before the report is issued.
Snellville sits in Gwinnett County, east of Atlanta, and a large share of the homes in the Gwinnett County school district geography were built between 1970 and 1999. Many of them are on slabs, which means a report on one of those houses leans on the perimeter, the expansion joints and the plumbing penetrations. Older crawl-space houses in the area need a report that covers the sills, the band joists and the piers as well.
Transfers in Snellville and in the towns around it follow the same state rules, so the report is written to the same standard in every part of town. Snellville's own 2019 future development map names several character areas, but a report is about the house in front of the inspector.
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A termite inspection in Snellville covers the soil line, the wood and the crawl space, and records in writing what was and was not seen.
Subterranean termite control for Snellville homes, from soil and wood treatments to bait systems and retreatment when needed.
Termite treatment for slab-foundation houses in Snellville, where the work centers on the perimeter, the joints and the penetrations.
Crawl space moisture and pest work for older Snellville houses on brick or block piers, covering the wood, the soil and the pests that use them.
This guide publishes no price, because a number given without seeing the house is a guess.
The termite letter is the common name for the Official Georgia Wood Infestation Inspection Report.
Native subterranean termites begin swarming in February or March, and they swarm during the day rather than being drawn to lights.
A termite letter is the common name for the Official Georgia Wood Infestation Inspection Report. It is the written record of wood-destroying organisms and conditions that favor them, and Georgia treats it as the basis for transferring real property.
Only a company licensed in the wood-destroying-organisms category can issue the report. The license number and company name must appear on it, and the license can be checked in the state's public license search before the report is accepted.
No. The report certifies that the structure is apparently free of wood-destroying organisms on the day of the inspection. It describes what was seen and lists what could not be reached, and it does not promise that nothing is hidden.
The report must disclose active or previous infestation of subterranean termites, powder-post beetles, wood-boring beetles, dry-wood termites and wood-decaying fungi. Each finding is tied to a location, and a diagram is attached where evidence is found.
Where visible evidence of active or previous infestation is reported, some degree of damage should be assumed. The extent is decided by a qualified inspector approved by the purchaser and the lender, so the report points to the evaluation rather than estimating the damage itself.
Not by itself. A termite contract covers treatment and annual inspections, and the report is a separate written instrument. Where a contract exists, its diagram and inspection records can support the report, but the two documents have to agree.