Do you need a termite inspection when buying a home in Scottsdale, Arizona?

None of the Arizona sources I read says every buyer must have one. A termite inspection is usually something the buyer chooses to order, and a lender can ask for one as a condition of the loan. In Arizona it is written up as a wood-destroying insect inspection report, and I'd decide whether to order it during your inspection period, with your lender's requirements in front of you.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm the agent people call at every stage of their life. A termite report is one of the add-on inspections a buyer decides on, so I went through what the Arizona statutes and rules, the Arizona Department of Real Estate and the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension say about it, and I've named the source next to each fact.

This is general information, not legal advice, and it isn't a pest control recommendation. Your contract, your lender and a licensed inspector decide what applies to the home you're buying. I read each source on November 7, 2026. The Arizona Department of Agriculture's own pages and the Arizona REALTORS® contract blocked my automated reading, so where I relied on someone else's description of them, I say so.

Mostly you do. The Arizona REALTORS® purchase contract lists termites and other wood-destroying insects among the things a buyer looks into during the inspection period if they matter to the buyer, and I cover how that period works in my post on the inspection period in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Real Estate's Buyer Advisory says termites and other wood destroying insects are commonly found in some parts of Arizona, and it sends buyers to the Arizona Department of Agriculture for guidance and report information.

Your lender may decide for you. An older HUD tip sheet from its Atlanta Homeownership Center says FHA requires an inspection only if there is evidence of active infestation, if the state or local jurisdiction mandates it, if it is customary to the area, or at the lender's discretion. For VA loans, Chase's loan guide says a termite inspection is typically required in areas the VA rates at moderate to heavy or very heavy risk, and almost always when the VA appraisal notes wood-destroying insect damage. Neither is the current rulebook, so ask your loan officer whether your loan needs a report and which form the lender will accept.

It is the written termite inspection report used in a sale, on a form the Arizona Department of Agriculture approves. Under A.R.S. 3-3633, only an applicator certified in wood-destroying organism management who has completed the required training can complete it, and the rule that implements the statute, Arizona Administrative Code R3-8-307, says that applicator has to work under a business license. The statute also says nobody may complete the report for a property they own or occupy, so the person writing it is not the seller.

A general home inspector writes a different report. That is why a termite report is a separate order, and why I'd ask your inspector at the start whether they do one or whether a pest company will. My post on what a home inspection finds on a Scottsdale luxury home covers the other add-on inspections.

It covers what the inspector could see and reach that day. A.R.S. 3-3633 says the report is evidence of whether wood-destroying insects, and conditions that invite them, were visible and accessible to the inspector when the inspection was made, and that it does not guarantee conditions after that date. R3-8-307 says the inspector inspects all areas of a structure, including crawlspaces, that are visible or accessible, and may probe and sound the wood without damaging it.

The rule lets the inspector leave out areas that are permanently covered, or that would mean removing or marring finish work or moving furniture, appliances or equipment, and it says every area left out, with the reason, has to be written on the report. Other structures on the site can be left out the same way, and each one has to be named. The conditions the rule lists as inviting insects are faulty grade level, a sub-area with less than 24 inches of clear space under a floor joist, excessive cellulose debris, earth-to-wood contact and excessive moisture.

Yes, in parts of the state. The Department of Real Estate's Buyer Advisory says so in general terms, and the sources I read don't say how common termites are in any one Scottsdale neighborhood, so I won't guess at that. A 2005 University of Arizona Cooperative Extension publication says at least seventeen species of termites occur in Arizona, only three of any real economic importance, that subterranean termites are one of the state's major urban pests, and that the desert subterranean termite is the most common and by far the most destructive.

The same publication says subterranean termites live in contact with soil, which gives them moisture, and build tubes of soil to reach wood above the ground. It names a mud tube on the outside of the stem wall as a good indicator of termites. It also says termites that naturally live in the desert feed on plants like creosote and greasewood, and that when homes are built there, the natural food source is gone and they may begin to attack the structure. Drywood termites are different, it says, because they live in dry wood that isn't touching the ground and don't build mud tubes.

Start with the seller, and then look it up yourself. The Buyer Advisory says the Arizona Department of Agriculture's website lets you search a property for past termite treatments. A.R.S. 3-3631 explains why there is something to find, because a licensee who does certain termite work, including an initial corrective treatment, has to file a termite action report that lists the address of the work, the type and date of the work and the licensee's name. I couldn't open the department's search page myself, so check what it returns for the address you're buying.

A past treatment is not a problem by itself, and a clean search is not a clean bill of health, because the search covers what was reported and the inspection covers what the inspector could see that day.

If an inspector finds termites or conditions that invite them, the pest company can give you a treatment proposal. A.R.S. 3-3632 says it has to show the property's address, say whether the work is preventative or corrective, describe the infestation or damage found, name the treatment method and give the terms of the company's service agreement. The same statute says a treatment proposal is not an inspection report.

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension describes a treatment as often paired with an annual renewable service agreement, which it calls a warranty, in case the termites return. I could not find an Arizona source that says whether such an agreement passes to a new owner, so I'm not going to say it does or doesn't. If the home has one, ask the company in writing whether it can be transferred to you, what it covers and what it asks of the owner. I'm not quoting prices because they vary by company and by home, and a written proposal for the address is the only number that counts.

Ask for any wood-destroying insect inspection reports they have, any treatment paperwork, any service agreement and what it says, and a plain account of what was found and what was repaired. Ask the seller what they know about termites at the home too, and get the answer in writing through your agent. I'll help you write that request, and I'll tell you if anything the seller sends doesn't match what the inspector sees. Seller disclosure has its own rules, and my post on seller disclosure in Arizona goes through them.

If the seller hands you an older report, keep in mind that a report speaks to the day it was done, so ask your own inspector whether a new one makes sense for you.

Start with what was not inspected. R3-8-307 says every area left out, and why, has to be on the report, and the Buyer Advisory tells buyers to review the inspection report with the inspector and to pay attention to the scope and any portions left out. If an area you care about was covered, ask whether it can be opened or what a specialist would do about it.

Next, read what the inspector found about insects and about the conditions that invite them, using the list from the rule: grade, tight crawl spaces, debris, wood touching soil and moisture. Ask who would fix each one and whether the inspector recommends a treatment or a re-check. Then check the date on the report, since it covers that day only. If something in it changes what you want to do, my post on the inspection period in Arizona explains how a buyer puts that in writing.

Here's what a home inspection finds on a Scottsdale luxury home, and here's my guide to buying a home in Scottsdale.

If you have a home in mind and want help working out which inspections to order, get in touch or call me at (480) 203-6605. For anything that depends on your contract or your loan, your lender or an attorney is the person to ask.