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WDI Reports and Termite Inspections for Delaware Closings
A WDI report is the paperwork a lender needs before a sale or refinance can close. It records what an inspector could see, on a standard form, on a date. We inspect the property and complete the form.
What a WDI report actually is
We run WDI inspections across all three counties, and most of them are booked against closings that already have a date. WDI stands for wood-destroying insect. The report is a single standard form, the NPMA-33, published by the National Pest Management Association, and it is the form required for HUD and VA guaranteed property transactions. Your agent or loan officer may call it a termite letter, a termite inspection or a WDO report. In practice they are asking for the same piece of paper.
It is worth being clear about what the form is and is not. It is a record of visible evidence in accessible areas on the day of the inspection. It is not a warranty, not a guarantee that a structure is free of insects, and not a general home inspection. An inspector cannot report on what is sealed behind finished walls or under stored belongings, and the form says so.
Tell us the closing date when you call. It is the one piece of information that decides how we schedule, and it is the thing people most often leave out of the first message.
Why Delaware sales need one
Delaware is one of the states where the VA requires a wood-destroying insect inspection on a VA-backed purchase. If your buyer is using a VA loan on a Delaware property, the report is not optional and the closing does not proceed without it. Lenders on other loan types frequently ask for one as well, at their own discretion, and plenty of buyers order one simply because they would rather know.
That is why these requests tend to arrive with a deadline attached. The inspection is rarely the thing anyone planned for; it is the thing that surfaces two weeks before settlement.
What the inspection covers
An inspector works through the accessible areas of the structure looking for evidence of the insects that eat wood, and for the damage they leave behind:
- Subterranean termites — mud tubes on foundation walls and piers, damaged wood that sounds hollow, discarded wings near windows after a spring swarm
- Carpenter ants — galleries cut into damp or damaged wood, and the coarse sawdust pushed out of them
- Wood-boring beetles — exit holes in structural timber and trim, and the fine powder beneath them
- Carpenter bees — round entry holes in fascia, deck rails, and unfinished eaves
- Conditions that invite all of the above — wood in contact with soil, poor crawlspace ventilation, standing moisture, mulch banked against siding
Crawlspaces, basements, garages, attic access, the perimeter and any accessible substructure are all part of it. Areas that are locked, sealed, insulated over or stacked to the ceiling are recorded as inaccessible rather than guessed at.
Active infestation versus previous evidence
This distinction is the one that decides whether a closing stalls, and it is the part most people have not encountered before.
Previous evidence
Old damage, abandoned tubes, or a treatment recorded years ago. Common in older Delaware housing stock and not, by itself, a problem — but the form records it, and a lender may ask what was done about it.
Active infestation
Live insects or evidence of current activity. This is what changes the conversation, because the parties to the sale then have to decide who handles it and when, usually against a settlement date.
Either way the report says what was seen. It does not decide who pays for what — that is between the buyer, the seller and the lender.
Booking an inspection
Buyers, sellers, agents and loan officers can all order the inspection; it does not have to be the homeowner. We need access to the property, the full address, and the name of whoever should receive the completed form.
Call us to arrange it, or send the details through and we will come back to you.
WDI Reports questions
Is a WDI report the same thing as a termite inspection?
For practical purposes, yes. Termites are the insect everyone worries about, so the inspection gets named after them, but the form covers carpenter ants, wood-boring beetles and carpenter bees as well. If your lender asked for a termite letter, a WDO report or an NPMA-33, this is what they want.
Do I need one for a VA loan in Delaware?
Yes. Delaware is one of the states where the VA requires a wood-destroying insect inspection on a VA-backed purchase, so the report has to be completed before the loan can close. Talk to your loan officer about how the cost is handled on your particular file — that is set by the loan, not by us.
What if the report finds something active?
The form records what the inspector saw, and the parties to the sale decide what happens next. Call us to talk it through — what is found, and where, changes what is worth doing about it.
Does the report guarantee the house is free of termites?
No, and no honest report does. It states what was visible in the accessible areas on the day of the inspection. Anything sealed behind a wall, under insulation or behind stored belongings cannot be inspected, and the form records those areas as inaccessible rather than clear.
Who can order the inspection?
Anyone involved — buyer, seller, listing or buying agent, or the lender. We need access to the property, the address, and who should receive the finished form.
Get on the schedule
Book WDI Reports
Tell us the property address and the closing date. We will take it from there.