How to Sell a House with Termite Damage in Florida

Termite damage is one of the few problems that can kill a financed sale in Florida even when the house is otherwise solid. The reason is a single document: the WDO inspection report. Most lenders in Florida require a clear wood-destroying organism report before they will fund a mortgage, and a report that shows active termites or unresolved damage stops the deal cold.

If you own a Florida home with termite damage, you have three real options: treat and repair before listing, list as-is and accept a smaller buyer pool, or sell directly to a cash buyer that skips the WDO gate entirely. This guide covers how each path works, what treatment and repairs actually cost, and what Florida law requires you to disclose.

Why Florida Is Different: The Termite Pressure

Broward County sits in one of the heaviest termite-pressure zones in the country. Three groups do most of the damage:

• Eastern subterranean termites live in the soil and build mud tubes up into the structure. They are the most common termite in Florida and respond well to soil treatments and baiting systems.
• Formosan subterranean termites are an invasive species established across South Florida. A single Formosan colony can hold millions of workers and chew through structural wood far faster than native species. They are a documented problem in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties.
• Drywood termites live entirely inside the wood they eat, with no soil contact needed. They swarm into attic framing, fascia, and even furniture. Because there is no soil barrier to break, the standard treatment is whole-structure fumigation: tenting.

An active infestation does not just lower your price. It changes which buyers can buy at all.

The WDO Inspection: The Gate That Kills Financed Deals

When a buyer applies for a mortgage on a Florida home, the lender almost always requires a wood-destroying organism inspection, commonly called a WDO or termite inspection, performed by a licensed pest control operator and reported on the state's standard form, FDACS-13645. VA loans require it. FHA and conventional lenders routinely require it in South Florida, where termite risk is treated as a given rather than a possibility.

The report has two outcomes that matter:

1. Active infestation or live organisms found. Most lenders will not fund until the property is treated and a re-inspection comes back clear.
2. Evidence of past damage or past treatment. The lender may require a licensed contractor to certify the damage is not structural, or require repairs before closing.

Either outcome puts the deal on hold. The buyer cannot close until the report is clear, the seller pays for treatment and possibly repairs with no guarantee the buyer waits, and if the buyer walks, the next financed buyer hits the same wall. This is why termite damage behaves like code violations, flood damage, fire damage, foundation problems, and mold in a financed sale: the problem is not the cost, it is the lender.

What Treatment and Repair Actually Cost

Costs vary widely by infestation type, structure size, and how far the damage spread, but these are the hedged ranges sellers commonly see quoted:

• Tenting, meaning whole-structure fumigation for drywood termites: commonly priced by square footage and frequently quoted anywhere from roughly $2,000 to $8,000 or more for a single-family home, plus lodging while the house is under the tent.
• Subterranean treatment, meaning soil treatment or bait systems: commonly runs from several hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, often with an annual renewal contract of a few hundred dollars a year.
• Structural repair: the wild card. Replacing damaged fascia or trim might run a few hundred dollars. Sistering floor joists, replacing wall framing, or rebuilding a termite-eaten roof section can run from several thousand dollars into the tens of thousands if the infestation ran for years.

Sellers often pay for treatment and then discover the repair estimate is the real number. Tenting kills the termites. It does not put the wood back.

Florida's Disclosure Duty: You Cannot Stay Quiet

Florida sellers have a legal duty to disclose known defects that materially affect the value of the property and are not readily observable to the buyer. That standard comes from the Florida Supreme Court's 1985 decision in Johnson v. Davis, and it squarely covers known termite damage, past infestations, and past treatment.

In practice, if you know the house was tented, treated, or damaged, you disclose it on the seller disclosure form and turn over whatever WDO documentation you have. Hiding it does not protect the sale. It converts a repair problem into a fraud claim, and Florida courts have repeatedly held sellers liable for exactly that. An as-is clause does not erase the disclosure duty.

Selling As-Is to a Cash Buyer: Skipping the WDO Gate

A cash sale removes the lender from the transaction, and the lender's WDO requirement goes with it. There is no FDACS report blocking funding because there is no funding.

Here is how an as-is cash sale to InTym Properties works on a termite-damaged Florida home:

1. You describe the property and what you know about the termite history.
2. InTym Properties inspects, prices the treatment and repair burden into the offer, and delivers a written offer usually within 48 hours with the math shown line by line.
3. The sale closes as-is through a licensed title company on the date you pick. No tenting, no repairs, no re-inspection, no lender gate.

The disclosure duty still applies: you tell InTym Properties what you know, and InTym Properties shows in writing how the termite damage moves the number. The trade-off is straightforward. The offer prices the treatment, the repair estimate, and the risk into one figure, and in exchange you skip months of pest contracts, contractor bids, and deals collapsing at the WDO report. The we buy houses page covers what InTym Properties purchases and how the written offer works.

The Bottom Line

Termite damage in Florida is common enough that buyers expect it and lenders fear it. The financed-sale path works if you can fund treatment and repairs up front and your buyer will wait. If the damage is structural, the repair number is big, or you simply do not want to run a tenting-and-contracting project just to sell a house, a direct cash sale converts the whole problem into a priced line item.

If you have a termite-damaged home in Broward County, call or text (650) 540-1854 or email hello@intymproperties.com. InTym Properties buys houses as-is, termites included, with a written offer that shows the math.