A Florida WDO inspection report for a home sale, covering the wood that can be reached and listing what could not be.
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A wood-destroying organism inspection is the report Florida uses for a home sold in a real estate transaction. A certified inspector checks the accessible wood for termites and other wood-destroying organisms, then records what was seen and what could not be reached. It does not replace a treatment plan, and the price is confirmed before the visit.
When a home in Tampa is sold, the buyer, the seller or the lender may ask for a wood-destroying organism inspection. In Florida that report is a state report, and it records whether termites or other wood-destroying organisms were found, what was treated before, and what the inspector could not reach. It is a snapshot of the wood at one visit.
Florida regulates this work under Chapter 482 of the Florida Statutes. A WDO inspection in a real estate transaction has to be done by a certified inspector in the termite and other wood-destroying organisms category. Ask for the inspector's certificate and check it with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before the visit, and keep the paperwork with the closing file.
A WDO inspection is a visual survey of the wood that can be reached. It finds evidence and notes the conditions that tend to invite termites. It does not confirm that a house is free of termites in every hidden corner, and a buyer who wants more than a visual report can ask for a different and more detailed survey.
Do not clear stored items from a crawl space or attic before the inspector arrives unless they have asked you to. Do not stand under a ceiling or in a wet crawl space beneath an area that looks damaged, and tell the inspector about any hazard you already know of. For questions about a report, call (855) 974-4733 before the closing date.
The inspector agrees the scope with the person who ordered the report, including which structures are covered and whether outbuildings or additions are part of the sale. Access arrangements are made at that point.
Exterior and interior wood is checked where it can be reached: the foundation, the crawl space, the attic, sill plates, trim and any visible framing. Moisture readings and probes are used where the wood is accessible.
Areas blocked by stored items, finished walls, insulation or locked rooms are listed as not inspected. That list is part of the report, and it matters as much as the findings.
The findings go into the state WDO inspection report, with the organisms found, the areas inspected and any conditions that need attention. The price is explained before the visit, not after.
If activity or damage is found, the report says what treatment or repair is needed and who should carry it out. The parties to the sale decide how to handle it.
It covers the wood the inspector can reach, looking for termites and other wood-destroying organisms, along with conditions that invite them, such as wood in contact with soil. It does not cover hidden parts of the house unless the report says the inspector could get to them.
Inspectors usually check the crawl space, the attic, the exterior perimeter and the interior trim and framing they can see. The report should list each area, so a buyer knows what was checked. Ask for that list before you accept the report as complete.
The answer is usually set out in the sale contract, and it is often the buyer, the seller or the lender who asks for the report. The finished report then goes to the party that needs it, and a copy is kept in the closing file.
A WDO inspection is a transaction document, which is why the state form matters. A report done for a sale should follow the state format, and a different kind of inspection may not be accepted in its place. Ask the inspector which report they will issue before you book.
The report records the evidence and recommends a next step. A treatment plan or repair estimate is a separate job and is priced and approved on its own, so the buyer and seller can then agree how to handle it.
Termite activity found during a sale does not always stop the sale. Treatment can happen before closing, or the parties can agree on an adjustment, a repair or a treatment after closing. Those decisions belong in the contract rather than in the inspector's report.
Keep it with the closing documents and any treatment record. A later buyer or an insurer may ask for it, and a follow-up inspection can be compared with the original report. Ask your inspector how copies are stored and sent.
If you are the seller, the treatment record and the report belong with the home files you hand over. If you are the buyer, copy the report before closing and keep it. Treatment records are useful years later when a termite question comes up again.
The basic survey for a resale. It looks at the accessible wood and reports visible evidence and conditions, with every area not reached listed as such.
When activity is found, the report can recommend a treatment. The treatment is a separate job with its own plan and price, and it is approved before any work begins.
Not the usual transaction, but the same report logic applies when a structure is being rebuilt. For new construction, termite protection is applied before the slab is poured, as covered on the pre-construction page.
Tampa's resale market includes many older homes. Hyde Park, Palma Ceia, Seminole Heights and Ybor City were largely built between about 1900 and 1940, and those houses often have original framing, crawl spaces and trim that an inspector has to work around. The report may list more limited areas in those houses, where finishes or stored belongings block the view. The Hyde Park page has more on that building stock.
Some parcels in Hyde Park, Seminole Heights and Tampa Heights sit in historic districts that review exterior work, and those three neighborhoods are described as preservation districts. An inspector cannot change those rules, but a repair recommendation affecting a historic exterior should be checked against them before the work is scheduled.
Across Hillsborough County, the rainy season from late May to early October brings wet ground and storms, and those months are when a sale can run through a soaked yard and a damp crawl space. An inspector records the moisture conditions they see, because those conditions can matter after closing. The rainy season guide covers the pests that follow the wet weather.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what wood-destroying organism inspection for home sales should cost.
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Inspection and treatment for subterranean termites in Tampa homes, from the soil line up through the wood framing.
Inspection and treatment for drywood termites, which live inside dry wood above the soil line and swarm in a different season.
Soil treatment for new slab-on-grade and other new construction, applied before the concrete is placed.
This page does not publish a price list, because no Tampa figure could be tied to a public body.
Florida termite swarms follow a calendar that depends on the species.
Asian subterranean termites are a tropical species that UF/IFAS has confirmed as established in South Tampa.
Florida regulates pest control through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under Chapter 482 of the Florida Statutes.
No. The inspection reports what was found and what could be reached. A treatment is a separate job with its own plan and price, and it only goes ahead if the homeowner or the parties agree to it.
No. The report is a visual inspection at one visit, limited to the wood that can be reached. It should say what was not inspected, and a buyer who wants a more detailed survey can ask for one.
It depends on the sale contract. Ask the seller, the buyer and the lender which party is responsible for ordering it, and have the price confirmed before the visit.
The time depends on the size of the house and how much of it can be reached. The technician will explain what to expect when the visit is booked.
A general home inspection is a different document. A WDO inspection uses the state report format, so ask the lender or the closing agent whether they need that report specifically before you book.