Buying a house in Kerala is a big deal. For most families it’s the biggest money decision they’ll ever make. You check the documents ten times, you get the lawyer to look at the title, you argue over the price, you check the road access and the water. And then you move in, and six months later you find termite mud running up the back of the kitchen cabinet and the staircase railing is hollow inside.
It happens more than you’d imagine. Especially with resale houses and older homes, and even with some new flats.
So one small suggestion from my side. Before the advance – or at the very least before the final payment – get someone to do a pest inspection. Costs very little compared to the house. Let me tell you what it involves.
What is a pre-purchase pest inspection?
A pest control person goes through the house or flat you want to buy, properly, looking for any pest problem or damage that’s already there. Termites mostly, that’s the big one. But also rats, cockroaches, wood borers (kedu), bed bugs, and the damp spots that bring all of them in. At the end you know what’s there and roughly what it’ll take to sort it out, before your money is gone.
Like a master health check-up, but for the house. Nobody’s hunting for a reason to cancel the deal. You just don’t want surprises after the registration.
Why does Kerala especially need it?
Our weather, mainly. Hot, humid, months of rain, greenery everywhere, wet soil. Subterranean termites couldn’t ask for more. They live down in the soil and come up through the tiniest crack in the floor or the foundation, and they eat the wood from inside out, which is the cruel part – the outside looks perfect right up to the day it gives way.
And our older houses are full of wood. Door frames, window frames, wooden ceilings, the staircase, the rafters under the tiled roof, those built-in almirahs. Newer ones have wooden kitchen cabinets and wardrobes. Then there are the houses that sat locked for years while the owners were abroad – lots of those come up for sale – and nobody was around to notice anything.
What do we check during the inspection?
Inside, outside, every room. This is what my team looks for.
Termites. First thing I hunt for is the mud – pencil-thin brown lines climbing the wall, creeping along the base of the house, hiding behind the cupboard, once in a while even inside a switch box. Then I go round knocking on wood. Solid wood goes “tok”. Eaten wood goes “thup”, sort of dull and empty. Wood that’s gone soft or crumbles. Little heaps of shed wings near the windows and lights, mostly after a rain – that’s the eesal swarm. Paint that’s bubbling. Skirting so thin you could push a finger through.
Wood borers. Little pinholes, perfectly round, on the furniture or the frames or the roof rafters, and right under them a tiny heap of powder like someone spilt talc.
Rats. Droppings, obviously. Gnawed door corners. Wires with the plastic chewed off, which frankly scares me more than the rat. Those oily black smudges low on the wall where they rub past every night on the same route. Nests in the roof or above the false ceiling. A hole beside the drain.
Cockroaches and other insects. Kitchen, bathrooms, drains, store room.
Bed bugs. If the house comes furnished – the mattresses, the sofa seams, the cot joints.
Damp. Water marks, mould, leaking pipes, water collecting around the house. Wet is what pulls termites in to begin with, so we take this seriously.
Outside. We walk the whole compound too. Is there a pile of firewood leaning on the kitchen wall? An old jackfruit stump nobody dug out? Plants hugging the house? We check the compound wall, the drains, the cattle shed or store room if there is one.
So we found something. Now what?
We sit with you and explain, plain Malayalam or English, photos wherever we can. All clear? Wonderful, go ahead with a light heart. Found something? Then you’ll know how bad it is and roughly what fixing it means.
And that’s useful. Ask the seller to get it treated before handover. Or bring the price down by what the treatment will cost you. Or plan the anti-termite work before your furniture arrives – far easier on an empty house than a full one. Or, if it’s really bad, walk away while you still can.
Should I get one for a new flat too?
Worth a thought, yes. New buildings are supposed to have the soil treated for termites before the foundation is laid. Was it done properly, though? You usually have no way of knowing, and that treatment doesn’t last forever anyway. Wooden fittings the builder put in can bring pests along too. For a brand-new flat, a quick look plus a post-construction termite treatment before you shift in is just good sense.
Resale flat in an old building? Check, no question. In apartments, pests move flat to flat through the shared walls, ducts and drains. Ask the association secretary whether others in the block have had trouble. They’ll usually tell you.
Things you can check yourself during a site visit
Some signs you can catch on your own. Carry a torch on the site visit – phone torch is fine – and look under and behind the kitchen cabinets. Knock on the door frames. Hollow? Not good. Look low on the walls for thin mud lines. Open the wardrobes, check the back panel. Look up at the ceiling corners for water marks, and if it’s a two-storey house, check the ceiling under the upstairs bathroom. Use your nose too. Musty means damp.
Then just ask the owner. Was the house ever treated for termites? When? Any bill or record? What they say tells you something. How they say it tells you more.
Why choose PCCS India for property pest inspection
Termites are a big chunk of what we’ve done in Kerala for the last fifteen-plus years. My technicians know where they hide in our houses, old tharavadus and new flats both. We’ll tell you the truth of it – not going to frighten you into some huge job you don’t need. And if treatment is needed, we’ll get it done before you move in.
We cover Thiruvananthapuram and other districts through our branches. Read more about how we handle termites in our post Termites in a Kerala House: What I Check First, or see our pest control services.
Common questions
When should I get a pest inspection when buying a house?
Best before the advance or the agreement. Latest, before final payment and registration – after the document is registered, sorry, the termites are all yours.
How much time does the inspection take?
Normal house or flat, an hour or two. Big house with a big compound, longer.
Does the seller need to be there?
Someone has to open every room for us, the attic or roof space if there is one, and the compound. Better if the owner or his person is there, so we can ask questions.
Is anti-termite treatment needed for every house?
Not every single one. But in our climate it’s suggested for a lot of houses, especially ones with plenty of wood or old leak problems. The inspection tells you if yours needs it now.
Buying a home soon?
Call PCCS India on 0471-2353735 or 81138 50599, or message us on the contact page. Tell us the location and type of property, and we’ll arrange an inspection before you sign.
