New Construction.
Same Termites.

Katy, Cypress, Fulshear, Richmond, Rosenberg and Sealy sit in one of the most active new construction corridors in the country, and every new home in it faces the same termite pressure as every resale on the street. Some loans require a WDI report before closing. The report is worth having either way.

VA Loan, Required in Texas FHA, Commonly Required Conventional, Lender Discretion Cash, Your Documentation
What a New Slab Does Not Change Day One is when it starts

Subterranean termites live in Fort Bend County soil year round and are present at the site before the slab is poured. A new home sits on the same ground, in the same climate, under the same pressure as the resale next door. New construction is not an exemption from inspection, and most lenders treat it that way.

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The New Construction Myth

Brand new does not
mean termite free.

It is a new build, so it does not need a termite inspection. Builders hear it. Buyers believe it. Lenders know better.

West Houston carries some of the highest subterranean termite pressure in the country. The warm, humid climate and Fort Bend County's clay heavy soil create favorable conditions for colony establishment most of the year, and those conditions exist in the ground before your slab is poured. A new structure offers no immunity from what is already in the soil.

Treated lumber resists termites. It does not repel them indefinitely, and it does nothing for foundation perimeters, grading problems, moisture that accumulates during construction, or the expansion joints and weep holes that subterranean termites use to reach the structure from below.

The region also carries Formosan termites, an invasive subterranean species established across the Houston metro. Colonies are larger and faster growing than native subterranean colonies, and they can establish aerial nests inside a wall cavity without maintaining soil contact, which means a soil barrier alone does not account for them.

An Imperial Pro new construction WDI inspection produces the documented baseline your lender may require and your purchase deserves, before you close and before either species becomes your problem rather than the builder's.

New Construction Termite Timeline
Day 1
Slab poured. Subterranean termites are already present in the surrounding soil. Soil treatment is applied only if the builder ordered it. Not every builder includes pretreatment. Ask yours directly and in writing.
Week 1
Termites begin probing the new structure from below. Mud tubes form along foundation walls and through weep holes, the most common entry route in slab construction across Fort Bend County.
Week 2
Framing completes and interior walls begin closing. Conducive conditions inside those walls, such as trapped moisture and untreated framing joints, become inaccessible. What is in there stays in there.
Month 6
Landscaping goes in and final grade may shift against the foundation. Mulch placed directly against the slab is a conducive condition the inspector documents and one builders routinely leave uncorrected.
Closing
A VA file requires the WDI report. FHA and conventional lenders frequently require it. Without it you close with no documented record of what you bought.
Year 5
Any original soil treatment is approaching the end of its effective life while colonies continue to develop in high moisture clay. This is where the baseline you took at closing starts earning its keep.
Loan Requirements

When the report is
required to close.

Texas is a mandatory WDI state for VA loans, new construction included. Here is where each loan type stands and what your lender will look for before the file can move.

Required in Texas
VA Loan

Texas sits on the VA's mandatory WDI inspection state list. Every VA purchase in Texas, new construction or resale, requires a Texas Official WDI report before the VA Notice of Value can be issued. No report, no close.

The inspection must be performed by a TDA licensed inspector and the report must be current at closing. If active infestation or damage is documented, treatment and clearance are required before the file completes.

VA policy was updated in 2022 to allow the veteran to pay the inspection fee directly rather than requiring the seller to cover it, which removed a common point of friction at closing.
Commonly Required
FHA Loan

FHA does not require a WDI report on every file, but lenders in high pressure areas, which includes Fort Bend County and west Houston, routinely require one as a lender overlay. If the appraiser notes evidence of activity or damage, the inspection becomes mandatory regardless.

For new construction in Katy, Fulshear, Richmond, Cypress or Sealy, plan on your FHA lender asking for the report. It is easier to have it in hand than to chase it after the appraisal.

FHA lenders have discretion to require a WDI report anywhere termite pressure is significant. Fort Bend County qualifies, so do not wait to find out at appraisal.
Lender Discretion or Cash
Conventional and Cash

Conventional lenders are not federally required to mandate a WDI report, though many do across the Houston market. Cash buyers face no lender requirement at all, which means nothing stands between them and an undocumented condition at closing.

For any buyer in this corridor, the WDI report is the one document that establishes the condition of the property on the day you bought it. That record matters later, both at resale and if a problem develops.

Termite damage discovered after closing is generally a homeowner cost rather than a builder warranty claim, since insect damage is excluded from most standard builder warranties.

Builder pretreatment is not a WDI inspection. Many builders across Katy, Fulshear and Richmond include a pre construction soil treatment, but that treatment is not documented by an independent inspector, does not produce a Texas Official WDI report, and does not satisfy a VA or FHA requirement on its own. Only a TDA licensed inspector issuing the completed SPCS T-5 meets the loan condition.

The West Houston Growth Corridor

The communities we work
week in and week out.

Fort Bend County leads Texas in new housing starts and the western suburbs carry a large share of national master planned community sales. This is the corridor Imperial Pro covers, from Cypress and Bridgeland in the north down through Katy and Fulshear to Richmond, Rosenberg and Sealy.

Cypress and West Harris County
Northern Anchor
Bridgeland and Bridgeland Prairieland Cypress Green and Towne Lake Stone Gate and Fairfield Cypress Falls and surrounding builds
Katy, Fort Bend and Harris
Western Core
Sunterra and Tamarron Elyson and Cane Island Cinco Ranch and Seven Meadows Grand Lakes and Grange
Fulshear, Fort Bend County
Fastest Growing City
Cross Creek Ranch and Cross Creek West Fulshear Lakes and Jordan Ranch Weston Lakes and Firethorne Churchill Farms and Polo Ranch
Richmond and Rosenberg
Fort Bend Core
Aliana and Grand Mission Long Meadow Farms and Harvest Green Veranda and Del Webb Sweetgrass Kingdom Heights and Bonbrook Plantation
Sugar Land and Missouri City
Eastern Edge of the Area
Sienna and Riverstone Telfair and New Territory Greatwood and First Colony Imperial and surrounding infill builds
Sealy and the Southwest Edge
Southern Anchor
Austin Point master planned community Sealy new construction corridors Fulshear and Simonton build sites The far west side of our service area
Six Reasons

Why new construction buyers
still need the report.

01
The soil was here before the slab

Subterranean termites are present in the soil at new construction sites across Fort Bend County and west Houston. They do not wait for a home to age. They begin probing new foundation perimeters as soon as construction disturbs the ground. Swarming season runs March through June, which overlaps peak closing activity.

02
Builder soil treatment is not a WDI report

Many builders include a pre construction termiticide application. That treatment is not independently verified, does not produce an official TDA document, and does not satisfy a VA lender's WDI requirement. Those are three separate things and only one of them closes a loan.

03
Construction creates conducive conditions

Grading errors, drainage that runs the wrong way, and landscaping installed tight against the foundation are ordinary construction byproducts. They are also exactly the moisture and wood to soil contact conditions a WDI report documents, and they turn up routinely on brand new homes.

04
Builder warranties exclude insects

New construction structural warranties, typically written as one year workmanship, two year systems and ten year structural, generally exclude damage caused by insects. An infestation found eighteen months after closing is usually a homeowner repair cost rather than a warranty claim. Read yours and confirm.

05
You need a documented baseline

A WDI inspection at closing creates a dated record of the property's condition at purchase. When you sell, it documents how the home was kept. When a problem develops, it helps establish when the property was clean and when it was not.

06
Fort Bend clay holds moisture

The expansive clay across Fort Bend County holds moisture through the wet season, which keeps conditions favorable for subterranean colony establishment much of the year. New slab construction in Fulshear, Richmond and Rosenberg sits in exactly that soil from day one.

Before You Close

Questions to ask
your builder first.

Before you schedule the inspection, or accept the builder's assurances, these are the questions worth asking in writing.

Builders are not required to volunteer termite information unless asked directly. Most will tell you what they did. Few will tell you what they did not. Asking in writing creates a clear record of what protection was and was not in place before you closed.

01
Was a pre construction soil termiticide treatment applied, and if so, what product, what date, and by which licensed company?
02
Does the structural warranty cover termite damage, and if not, what exactly is excluded?
03
Will you provide documentation of the pretreatment, including company name, license number, product label and treatment diagram?
04
If my lender requires a Texas Official WDI report before closing, is there any restriction on an independent inspector accessing the property?
05
Is the final grade sloped away from the foundation, and will any wood to soil contact remain in the finished landscaping?
What Imperial Pro delivers on a new build
Texas Official WDI report, SPCS T-5, the document your VA or FHA lender looks for before the file moves forward
HUD NPMA-33 available on request, issued alongside the report when your lender or loan program requires it
Foundation perimeter inspection covering slab edges, weep holes, grade contact and expansion joints on all four sides
Conducive conditions documented, including grade problems, mulch contact, drainage and moisture accumulation, even where no activity is present
Perimeter diagram with measurements, drawn and annotated, included with every report
Report typically within 24 hours, scheduled around builder walk and funding dates
TDA license #0801793, issued by the Texas Department of Agriculture, the licensing authority for Texas WDI inspections
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Slab on grade residential starting at $195 plus tax

New Construction FAQ

New build WDI,
questions answered.

What buyers, builders and agents across the Katy, Fulshear and Richmond corridor ask most about new construction WDI inspections.

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Yes, and not only because your lender may require it. New homes in this corridor sit on the same clay heavy, high moisture soil as every other structure in Fort Bend County. Subterranean termites are present in that soil before the slab is poured, and builder soil treatment, where it is applied at all, begins degrading immediately and never covers everything. The region also carries Formosan termites, a more aggressive invasive species. The inspection produces the documented baseline your lender needs and your purchase deserves.
Yes. Texas is on the VA's mandatory WDI inspection list. Every VA financed purchase in Texas, new construction or resale, requires a Texas Official WDI report before the Notice of Value can be issued. There is no builder exemption and no new construction exemption, and a pretreatment receipt does not substitute. Only a TDA licensed inspector issuing the completed SPCS T-5 satisfies it.
No. Pretreatment and a Texas Official WDI report are different things. Pretreatment is a preventive pest control measure. The WDI report is an independent visual inspection by a licensed inspector producing an official state document. Your lender needs the SPCS T-5. A builder treatment receipt or pest control invoice does not take its place.
Usually not. New construction warranties, commonly written as one year workmanship, two year systems and ten year structural, generally exclude damage caused by insects and other wood destroying organisms. That means an infestation developing after closing is typically your cost rather than a warranty claim. Read your specific warranty, since terms vary by builder, and document the property's condition before you close either way.
As close to closing as practical, since the report has a limited validity window for loan purposes. The best window is after landscaping is in and final grade is set, usually two to four weeks before closing, so the inspector can document soil contact, drainage and mulch placement as the home will actually stand. Do not schedule during active framing. Wait until the exterior is finished and accessible.
We cover the west side corridor, including Bridgeland, Cypress Green and Towne Lake in Cypress, Sunterra, Tamarron, Elyson and Cane Island in Katy, Cross Creek Ranch, Cross Creek West, Fulshear Lakes and Jordan Ranch in Fulshear, Aliana, Grand Mission, Harvest Green and Veranda in Richmond and Rosenberg, Sienna, Riverstone and Telfair in Sugar Land and Missouri City, and Austin Point and the Sealy corridor. We do not inspect in the Heights, the inner loop or east Houston. All inspections are performed by a TDA licensed inspector with the report typically delivered within 24 hours.
All readily accessible exterior and interior areas of the completed structure, including the foundation perimeter on all four sides, weep holes, expansion joints, exterior wood elements, accessible interior framing, the garage and the attic where accessible. On a new build the inspector pays particular attention to grade conditions, mulch against the foundation, drainage patterns and any wood to soil contact at framing or decking. A perimeter diagram with measurements is included. The inspection is visual and limited to accessible areas, and it is not a warranty.
Conducive conditions such as grade slope problems, mulch against the foundation, poor drainage and wood to soil contact are documented on the report. Finding them on a new home is common and most are correctable. Grade and drainage items are typically the builder's responsibility during the warranty period, and the report gives you documented evidence to hand them before those items become a long term problem. If treatment is warranted, we can refer you to a licensed treatment provider.
No. We inspect slab on grade foundations only. Pier and beam and crawlspace properties require subfloor entry that we do not perform, so we are not able to take those inspections. Nearly all new construction in this corridor is slab on grade, but if your build is raised, we will tell you right away rather than hold up your closing, and we are glad to point you toward a provider who handles raised foundations.

New home. New build.
Get the WDI.

Texas Official WDI reports typically within 24 hours, with the NPMA-33 available when your lender requires it. Serving new construction from Cypress and Bridgeland south through Katy, Fulshear and Richmond to Austin Point and Sealy. Slab on grade residential starting at $195 plus tax.

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