Why does a brand new house in Waterways or Buckhead sometimes need a second pest inspection before it can close, even when nothing changed and no one found a problem the first time?
The answer has nothing to do with termites showing up overnight. It has to do with a clock that starts ticking the moment your first inspector signs the report, and that clock runs faster in Georgia than most VA buyers expect.
The 30-day window hiding inside every VA file
Georgia sits in the VA's "very heavy" termite probability zone, which means a wood-destroying insect inspection is required for every VA purchase loan in the state, not just when an appraiser happens to spot something suspicious. That part surprises very few buyers by the time they get to contract. What surprises them is which report actually counts.
Georgia requires its own state form, the Official Georgia Wood Infestation Inspection Report, commonly called Form 100. It has to be issued by a pest control company licensed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture specifically for wood-destroying organism work, and it is only valid for 30 days from the date it is signed. Buyers who have shopped in other states, or who have read general VA guidance about the national NPMA-33 form carrying a longer validity window, sometimes assume they have three months of breathing room. In Georgia, they do not. If the report ages past 30 days before closing, the lender will not accept it, and a new inspection has to be scheduled and paid for again.
For a resale home with a firm closing date two or three weeks out, this rarely matters. For new construction, it matters a lot.
Richmond Hill's new construction runs on its own calendar
Richmond Hill's growth corridor is built almost entirely around master-planned communities where the home you are buying may not exist yet, or exists but isn't finished. Waterways Township, the 2,300-acre gated community with lagoon lots and golf cart streets, has active listings with completion estimates stretching into September, October, and November of 2026. Buckhead, Heartwood, and Wexford by Landmark 24 all carry similar new-construction timelines, and The Ford Field & River Club has recent listings still marked under construction with a projected close date.
Builders in this corridor are generally reliable, but framing delays, supply timing on trim packages, and final walk-through punch lists push completion dates by a few weeks on a regular basis. That is not a knock on any specific builder. It is simply how new construction works, and it is exactly the kind of slip that turns a well-timed Form 100 into an expired one.
A buyer who orders the WDO inspection the day the builder gives an estimated completion date, thinking they are ahead of schedule, can easily end up with a report that lapses two weeks before the revised closing. The fix is not complicated, but it does cost time and money that a well-timed inspection would have avoided.
| What buyers often assume | What Georgia actually requires |
|---|---|
| The national NPMA-33 form covers it | Georgia requires its own Form 100, issued by a state-licensed WDO company |
| The report is good for about 90 days | The Form 100 is valid for only 30 days from signing |
| Ordering early is the safe move | Ordering too early risks expiration if the closing date slips, which is common with new construction |
The part of the process that actually got easier this year
It would be misleading to make this sound like VA paperwork only got harder. Some of it got simpler, and the timing matters here too.
As of May 1, 2026, the VA eliminated five property requirements from its Minimum Property Requirement checklist under its updated construction and valuation guidance. Two of those changes land directly on new construction in a place like Richmond Hill. Radon testing and certification is no longer required for new builds, with the VA now deferring to local code and EPA regulation instead. Detached structures such as sheds, workshops, and standalone garages are no longer part of the VA's property review at all, which matters in a market where listings routinely mention finished garages, workshops, and outbuildings as selling points.
Those changes speed up the appraisal side of a new construction VA file. They do nothing for the termite side. Georgia's Form 100 requirement and its 30-day validity window sit outside the MPR checklist entirely, so a buyer can feel the appraisal move faster while still getting caught by a pest report clock that never changed.
What it costs and how long it takes
Budgeting for a VA appraisal in this corridor means knowing which fee schedule applies, and that depends on the county line, not the zip code you'd expect.
Georgia's general VA appraisal fee cap is $700 for a single-family home, with a standard turnaround of 7 business days. New construction and proposed properties carry an additional $50 add-on fee on top of that. A handful of Georgia counties, including neighboring Chatham and Liberty, get a faster 6 business day turnaround under a separate schedule. Bryan County, where Richmond Hill sits, is not on that faster list, so buyers here should plan around the standard 7 business day window rather than assuming they'll get the quicker turnaround available just a short drive away in Savannah or Hinesville.
Add a Form 100 inspection running roughly $50 to $250 depending on the property, and a buyer has a reasonably complete picture of what to expect before the loan can close. None of these fees are large on their own. The risk isn't cost, it's sequencing.
Timing the report so it doesn't expire
The practical fix is straightforward once you know the clock exists. Do not order the Form 100 inspection the moment a builder gives you an estimated completion date. Wait until the closing date is firm, or close to firm, and then schedule the inspection so its 30 day window comfortably covers the actual closing rather than the original estimate. If a completion date slips, as it often does in a growth corridor with this much active building, plan to reorder the report rather than hoping the lender will make an exception. They will not.
Working with someone who tracks which Richmond Hill communities are running on schedule and which ones are seeing regular slippage makes this timing call easier. That is the kind of detail that only shows up from staying close to the market month over month, not from a single walk-through.
A few questions that come up often
Who pays for the Georgia Form 100 inspection on a VA loan? VA rules now allow the veteran borrower to pay for the termite inspection directly if needed, a change from older rules that required sellers to cover it. In practice, sellers in this market still frequently agree to pay as part of standard negotiations, so it is worth addressing directly in the offer.
Can I just use the national NPMA-33 form instead of Georgia's Form 100? No. Georgia requires its own state-approved Form 100, issued by a company licensed for wood-destroying organism inspections through the Georgia Department of Agriculture. A general NPMA-33 report alone will not satisfy the state requirement.
What happens if my new construction closing slips past my report's 30 days? The lender will require a fresh Form 100 before funding. It is a real cost and a real delay, but it is a predictable one once you know to build the timing around your actual closing date rather than the builder's first estimate.
If you're working through a VA purchase in one of Richmond Hill's new construction communities, or trying to figure out how a shifting completion date affects your paperwork timeline, Robin Lance Realty has spent years helping military families move through exactly this process. Reach out and we'll walk your closing calendar with you, line by line, so nothing expires on you at the worst possible moment.
