The pest inspection report that is reproduced below was performed by a reputable San Francisco inspection company with a long track record of work in San Francisco. The property inspected was a single family home. I’m not trying to highlight the company that performed the work or the property, so I have blurred out all of the personally identifiable information in the pest inspectio report.
Page 1 of the pest inspection report contains a general summary of the property information, including the address of the property, type of inspection (complete, limited, supplemental, re-inspection), date the inspection was performed, and a very concise summary of what the inspector noted at the home. It will also contain the name, license number, and signature of the inspector who did the pest inspection. Depending on property size, a diagram with items noted may be found on Page 1.
Page 1
The next page contains a property diagram generated by the structural pest inspector. On the diagram, you will find combinations of letters and numbers at various places. These are items noted by the property inspector. I’ve highlighted area 3A in the drawing below, and we will follow that particular piece of information throughout this example.
Page 2
After the diagram, you will have boilerplate information that is required and explains the limitations of the report, the laws governing the contents of the inspection report. It will also define the difference between a Section 1 and Section 2 item (down towards the bottom). The language on this page is virtually identical from report to report and company to company.
Page 3
This page of the structural pest inspection report will begin to explain the items noted. In this example, I have highlighted item 3A, which is a Section 1 item. The inspector explains what was found, and then follows with a specific recommendation for repairing it. If a chemical will be used to treat the area, that is also mentioned.
Page 4
Depending on the number of items noted and the level of explanation given for the repairs, the explanation of items noted may take several pages. On this page I’ve highlighted where the inspector says if it is a section 1 or section 2 item. From page 3 of the inspection report, “Section I contains items where there is visible evidence of active infestation, infection, or conditions that have resulted in or from infestation or infection.” It goes on to explain that “Section II items are conditions deemed likely to lead to infestation but where no visible evidence of such was found.”
Page 5
The other notes area is an important area to review, as it will contain notes about items that might not have been able to be fully inspected, and or additional notes about the construction or condition of the property.
Page 6
After the detailed explanation, there will be a page that contains information about the chemicals being recommended for use by the structural pest inspector.
Page 7
Next, will usually be an invoice for the cost of the pest inspection. For this single family house inspected in early 2010, the cost was $425.00.
Page 8
Finally, you will find the work authorization, which is where the structural pest inspector will list firm dollar amounts at which they will perform the repair work they have noted. In this case, item 3A is bid for an amount of $4,290.00.
Page 9
As you can see, to understand a structural pest inspection report you need to combine three pieces of information that are all located at different places in the report: where, what, and how much.
The property diagram at the beginning will tell you where. The detailed explanation pages that follow will tell you what the item noted is. Finally, towards the back of the report you will find a page that will tell you how much for each specific Section 1 item noted.
Standard Disclaimer: Real Estate transactions are governed by a contract. I am not an attorney, nor am I qualified or attempting to give legal advice. This blog post looks at one specific contract (published by the SFAR) and I discuss how the pest inspection contingency generally works in San Francisco real estate transactions. This post is not intended to be nor is it a substitute for legal advice, and if you are currently in a deal, there may be specific circumstances, documents or agreements that modify the operation of this contingency. Do not operate heavy machinery while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Brush your teeth and floss daily.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
StumbleUpon
Digg
Technorati
del.icio.us
[...] Inspection Report And Pest Inspection Report Sydney NSW AustraliaStructural Pest Inspection Report San FranciscoTermite Inspection Report And Pest Inspection Report Sydney NSW AustraliaStructural Pest [...]