in MY experience it is well worth it. they rarely raise the rates, maybe a couple bucks for the entire year. at work we have had a contract with them for the entire 24 years we have been in this building. 3 years ago they found some minor termite damage to an addition. the guy saw it, showed it to us and made a phone call. 2 days later their crew showed up, removed the siding, repaired/replaced all teh studs/bottom plate, reinstalled the good siding and replaced teh sheet that was bad. they then repainted the entire wall so that the repair did not stand out. took them 1 day to do the repairs and the next to finish painting. they also retreated the entire building for free. a guy at work rented a house that had a contract with terminix. they found damage to living room exterior wall. same story, within a couple days they were there and ripped out everything, fixed or replaced what was needed, hung new sheetrock(this house was brick so they worked inside), mudded, painted, and put eveyrthing back to normal in just a couple days. they also retreated the house. so again yes, in my experience it is well worth it.

Kristen, I'm very excited for you! There are lots of things you must seriously consider, of course, and it sounds like you are on the right track. I had a buyer's agent, and I am glad I did have one. The house that I did buy had a listing agent that was VERY unprofessional and would do anything to sell the house. However, DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT, put all your faith into a buyer's agent. Make sure you do alot of your own homework and question everything. At the end of the day, any agent - buyers or sellers - are looking at accomplishing one thing: to sell you a home. Absolutely DO NOT use any inspector the buyer's agent or listing agent, or anyone that has a stockhold in selling you a property. Find your own. I hired one that was highly recommended from my trusted buyer's agent, and he screwed up royally. Missed so much...$20K worth of things that should have easily been found. But, he was working with her to make the sale go through. And inspectors are not that worried about reprecussion of a bad inspection...the most they could ever get is a little slap on the wrist and to refund your inspection cost back. Surely not enough to cover damages that should have been found. Home inspectors DO NOT move anything. So this is what you should do yourself: look under area rugs for trouble, move the curtains to see the windows better, move the refrigerator to see what is lurking beneath (in my case it was a rotten floor), ask to see the house after it rains, etc. Go in yourself with a flashlight and look into every corner. Better yet, take knowledgable friends and family with you. Specifically have these questions asked and answered: when was the electric updated and where? when was the plumbing updated and where? how old is the septic system? How old is the roof? Also make sure you get the water tested. VERY important, especially if you have well water. Another very good thing to do is to go to the town hall and see what permits were pulled for work done on the house. See what was done professionally. Big things count: roof, septic, electric, plumbing, and installation of a furnace. Make sure you have the chimneys checked as well (not doing so cost me $4,000 to have them updated as they were caved in and I waived the chimney inspection). Don't think the ASHI organization is the pinnacle of excellence in finding a great home inspector either - that is used mostly for advertising so HI's can say they are part of some national organization where their credentials are checked. The take a test once, pass, and that's it. Find your HI through friend's recommendation. Interview several yourself. After all, YOU are hiring them to do a job. As far as a buyer's agent, do the same thing: interview a few, ask alot of questions. You are basically giving them a listing on a potential sale. So, you have every right to check them out to see if they really do have your best interests at heart. So do, many do not. Remember, they want a sale, period. Good luck, Kristen, take your time, and ask, ask, ask questions galore to find the right people. They are out there, it just takes some digging. Best to you!!!

Drywood termites most likely. You need to get it professionally treated. I just went through it myself. An inspection should be free, but if what I am seeing is like sand, then it is their feces. Honestly the treatment was not bad and your cats should be fine. You would only have to move them from oom to room. My treatment was not toxic and odorless. It's all behind the wall and door frames. What state are you in? Maybe put a bunch in a baggie and walk into a pest control place. They can tell you yay or nay.

For water we have to build all living spaces at least one foot above Base Flood Elevation (BFE). We're going 3 feet above BFE. For wind - there are bolts and straps coming out from the top of the concrete piers. (CMUs with rebar inside and filled with concrete) which are bolted to and nailed to the sill plate and beams. Then there are Hold Downs which are attached to studs in certain locations, bolted from the top of the bottom plate to 2 feet into the concrete piers. And there are straps that go from the bottom to the top, and there are really close nailing patterns specified for all sheathing. edit: the footings are continuous footings with rebar throughout - and that rebar is all tied together and then tied to the rebar that is in the piers. The bolts and straps at the top of the rebar is hooked to horizontal rebar 24" (at least) down from the top of the piers. I've been quite fascinated with how this is all done here.