When a condo owner puts his/her unit on the market and is lucky enough to get a contract, one of the pitfalls they encounter surrounds who is responsible for the termite letter. This is a “small potatos” issue to be sure, but one that I find myself having to explain over and over. Yes, most associations maintain a termite contract to protect the building. However, that has nothing to do with a “termite letter”. The termite letter is essentially something that the lender needs in their file to insure that they aren’t putting up money towards a building that is infested with termites. These institutions aren’t excited about the whether or not the current termite company “claims” the building is termite free. They want to know for themselves. Traditionally, the termite letter is paid for by the seller. I recommend to my buyers to allow the sellers to pay for the letter but to order it from their own company. This cost is usually minimal (less than $50). Just because your association has a termite contract, don’t think you can merely call the manager and ask for “a termite letter”. For one thing, they don’t have a letter on file. You’ll need to go ahead and order one just like in any other transaction. The other part of the equation is who pays for it. In the past it was the seller usually and the seller called their own company. I now recommend that the seller still pays for it while the buyer chooses the company. This lessens the chance that later on there is an argument that any conflict of interest existed between the seller’s termite company overlooked any termite infestations. The party that certainly has nothing to do with any of this aspect of the sale is the association. They don’t have a termite clearance letter on file–so don’t expect that.