Sell a Clearwater, FL house with termite damage for cash, as-is: subterranean and drywood termites, failed WDO inspections, damaged framing and old treatments. No tenting or repairs required. Offer in 24 hours.
Pinellas County is termite country twice over. Subterranean termites, including the aggressive Formosan species established across the Tampa Bay area, come up from the soil into slabs and framing; drywood termites arrive by air and colonize attics, window frames and furniture. A Clearwater house built in the 1950s or 1960s in Greenwood, Skycrest or Morningside has likely been treated at least once and may have hidden damage from before that treatment. The problem surfaces when a buyer's wood-destroying organism inspection, the WDO report that Florida lenders routinely require, finds live activity or damage, and the sale stalls while everyone argues about tenting, repairs and who pays.
Clearwater Cash Buyers buys houses with termite damage and active infestations throughout Clearwater and north Pinellas, as-is, with no WDO inspection, no tenting and no repair required from you. We price the treatment and the structural repair into the written offer and handle both after closing. This page explains how termites affect a Florida sale, what the damage usually involves, and how the as-is sale works.
How it works
- Tell us about the house — address and condition. Two minutes.
- Get a fair cash offer — based on real Clearwater-area values. No obligation.
- You choose closing — 7 days or on your schedule. We pay the customary closing costs.
Why termites stop financed sales
Most Florida lenders require a clear WDO report before funding, and buyers' agents write contracts that let the buyer demand treatment and repair or cancel. When the inspector finds live termites, damaged wood or evidence of past infestation without documentation of treatment, the seller is asked to pay for tenting (for drywood) or soil treatment (for subterranean), to repair the damaged members, and to provide a clearance letter, all on the buyer's timeline. Damage inside walls cannot be fully assessed without opening them, so estimates balloon. In a market where Clearwater homes already take two to three months to go under contract, a termite finding commonly adds weeks and a renegotiation, or ends the deal.
What termite damage looks like in Clearwater housing
In block homes the damage concentrates in what wood there is: roof trusses and decking, fascia and soffits, door and window bucks, interior framing, baseboards and cabinets. In the frame homes and additions common in older neighborhoods and in Florida rooms, it can run through sill plates, studs and subfloors. Drywood colonies in attics leave pellets and hollowed trusses; subterranean activity leaves mud tubes on stem walls and slab penetrations. Old treatments, including a termite bond that lapsed years ago, are common. We have no problem with any of it. The question for us is the extent of the structural repair, and we price it as if the walls were open.
How we price it
Our offer includes the appropriate treatment (fumigation, soil treatment or both), repair or replacement of damaged structural members, and the finish work that follows. Where trusses are involved we price engineering and the City of Clearwater permit the repair will require. We look at the house once, with a pest professional or contractor where needed, and deliver a written offer within 24 hours of the visit. There is no inspection contingency, so a WDO report with a longer list does not come back to you as a price reduction. The number you accept is the number at closing.
Disclosure and what you need to provide
Florida law requires you to disclose known defects that materially affect value and are not readily observable, which includes known termite damage or activity. You are not required to have an inspection, to treat, or to investigate beyond what you know. Tell us what you have seen, when the house was last treated if you know, and whether a bond exists. If you have old WDO reports or treatment records, share them; they help us price accurately and may raise the offer, not lower it.
Termites in vacant, inherited and rental homes
Infestations advance fastest in houses no one is watching: a parent's home in Imperial Park left empty after a move to assisted living, a rental where the tenant never mentioned the swarmers each spring, a seasonal home closed for the summer. Heirs frequently discover the damage when they begin clearing the house. We buy these homes from estates, out-of-state owners and landlords with the contents and the tenants in place, contract before the Pinellas County probate court's order issues where an estate is involved, and close as soon as the paperwork allows.
How the sale runs
Send the address and what you know about the termites. We visit within a day or two, deliver a written offer within 24 hours of the visit, and open title when you accept. The Pinellas County title company closes in about a week once the search is clean, or on a later date you choose. We pay the customary closing costs, and there is no commission. If the activity is minor and a treatment with a clearance letter would put the house in listable shape, and you have the time, we will say so; if the damage is structural or the house has other issues, the offer lets you skip the tent and the argument.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tent the house or repair the termite damage before selling to you?
No. We price the treatment and the structural repair into the offer and handle both after closing.
Will you require a WDO inspection?
No. We evaluate the house ourselves, bringing a pest professional or contractor to the visit when needed, and the written offer has no inspection contingency.
My buyer's inspector found termites and the deal fell through. Can you buy it quickly?
Yes. A visit within a day or two, a written offer within 24 hours of the visit, and closing in about a week once title work is done.
Do I have to disclose the termite damage?
Yes, Florida requires disclosure of known defects. Telling us what you know lets us price accurately and does not lower the offer.
The damaged house belonged to my late father in Clearwater. Can the estate sell it as-is?
Yes. We contract with the estate and close once the Pinellas County probate court has put the authority to sell in place (letters of administration, a summary administration order, or a sale order where one is required), with no treatment or repair required.