DENVER (KOAA) — An unexpected change to the VA website in late June left lenders and Realtors in Colorado asking, "Why?"
The change was highlighted on social media June 26, with some real estate agents pointing out that termite inspections are required for all VA home loans in the state of Colorado, which News5 has since confirmed is partially true. In years prior, many in Colorado were under the impression that termite inspections were only required in Colorado for VA home loans if there was evidence of the insect at the property, based on guidelines provided on the VA's website.
News5 reached out to the VA for clarification in early July, wanting to know why the change was implemented.
"For a short time, VA’s website incorrectly stated termite inspections were required for VA home loans throughout the state of Colorado. To be clear: the longstanding policy [benefits.va.gov] has been that termite inspections are only required for VA home loans in certain Colorado counties," Emma Spaulding, a Public Affairs Specialist with the VA wrote to News5. "The website has been updated and a list of affected counties can be found here [benefits.va.gov]. We apologize for any confusion."
The spokesperson credited News5 with pointing out the mistake to them, but many in Colorado have disagreed that there has been a requirement for termite inspections in certain counties in place before June 25.
"It was kind of funny," Senior Loan Officer Chris Annan with Citywide Mortgage said with a smile. "I think someone just happened to stumble over the guideline change, and it hit social media one day. So that's how most of us found out.... We started digging into the VA guidelines, and sure enough, they had changed the guideline for termite inspections."
Annan is a VA loan specialist in Colorado Springs. He and others followed guidelines posted to the VA's website for years.
News5 utilized "Wayback Machine" and found the following was posted on the VA's website from at least January of 2019 to early June of 2025:
"VA does not require Wood Destroying Insect Information on properties in the State of Colorado unless the VA appraisal indicates Wood Destroying Insect infestation or a condition conducive to infestation."
The VA pointed News5 to the lender's handbook that was issued in 2019, which does showcase a map with most of Colorado considered "Moderate to Heavy" for risk of subterranean termites based on information from the USDA. According to the handbook, if the property is in an area on the Termite Infestation Probability Map where the probability of termite infestation is "very heavy" or "moderate to heavy" on origination appraisals, a wood destroying insect inspection report must be required on the "Notice of Value." However, the handbook adds that the specific borders for some of the zones are difficult to determine from this map. Additional information may be found on VA’s local requirements webpage, which stated for years an inspection wasn't required unless the VA appraisal indicates Wood Destroying Insect infestation or a condition conducive to infestation.
On or about June 25, the VA website changed, stating that wood-destroying information is required for the entire state of Colorado. As the VA pointed out to News5, that was a mistake.
"We always like to make jokes about the VA if you want a different answer, you just call back and you'll get a different answer," Annan said jokingly.
Annan believes the sudden change didn't have a major impact as many negotiations had already been agreed upon for VA home loans, and many in the business caught on to the change fast thanks to the posts on social media. But Annan adds that this could put those who utilize a VA home loan at a disadvantage.
"One of the things we were worried about with the termite inspection is, it adds another layer to a seller considering taking a VA loan from a buyer," Annan stated. "So we always look at that as kind of discrimination. A lot of people, if they have a conventional loan and a VA loan next to each other, to take those in as offers. They usually take the conventional loan because the VA loan has some stipulations to it that they know they could lose the deal on. So now that we're adding that termite inspection on top of that, sellers are going to even think about that VA loan offer a lot harder."
Since News5 reached out to the VA, they have updated the website so that wood-destroying insect information is only required for the following counties:
Alamosa, Arapahoe, Archuleta, Baca, Bent, Chaffee, Cheyenne, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Douglas, El Paso, Elbert, Fremont, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Huerfano, Kiowa, Kit Carson, La Plata, Lake, Las Animas, Lincoln, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Otero, Ouray, Park, Phillips, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan, San Miguel, Summit, Teller, Washington, and Yuma.
A majority of the counties that are not required to do termite inspections, unless there is evidence, are in the northwest side of the state.
"There's been no notifications from VA, which is, that's the strange part about this whole thing is," Annan said. "Anytime the VA changes a guideline, they immediately send out what they call a circular. They only send out 10 to 12 a year. So when they come out, we, as the lender, look at them, because it's a major change. But they didn't send out a circular on this."
Termites are an increasing problem in Colorado, according to the Colorado State University Extension. You can read more about termites in the Centennial State by clicking here.
Wood-destroying insect information is required for the entire state of:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia, Guam, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Other states that have specific county requirements include:
Iowa
Wood-destroying insect information is only required for the following counties: Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscatine, Page, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Story, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Winneshiek, and Wright.
Nebraska
Wood-destroying insect information is only required for the following counties: Adams, Boone, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Chase, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dawson, Dodge, Douglas, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Lancaster, Madison, Merrick, Nance, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Perkins, Phelps, Platte, Polk, Red Willow, Richardson, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward, Sherman, Stanton, Thayer, Thurston, Valley, Washington, Webster, and York.
Nevada
Wood-destroying insect information is only required for the following counties: Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, and White Pine.
New York
Wood-destroying insect information is only required for the following counties: Bronx, Broome, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
Pennsylvania
Wood-destroying insect information is only required for the following counties: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland, Wyoming, and York.
Utah
Wood-destroying insect information is only required for the following counties: Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, San Juan, and Washington.
Wisconsin
Wood-destroying insect information is only required for the following Wisconsin counties: Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Kenosha, Lafayette, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha.
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