I just remembered something.
AFTER you buy the house and after you have the termite treatment which will happen X-number of times per year, this part is important.....Do no....do not dig the soil up from arount the foundation. The termite treatment usually gets sprayed into the ground via a long, thin wand and it's all calculated for things staying where they are and not getting stirred up.
See, Ms Termite Product Person treated the house, you come along and dig 11 holes to plant new azaleas, you remove the dirt and put it in a pile (later to become part of a garden, uh-oh) and you back-fill the holes with new soil, better soil, then you add bark chips as mulch. And you water. You water a lot. Then you add a nice shady pergola. Water plus shade plus reduced air circulation, oh boy.
Guess who was sitting in their tiny lawn chairs laughing their little butts off? The termites. They are saying, "Whoo-hoo, we just got in invitation!"
Okay, I wrote it like a joke, but seriously, when you talk to your potential bug guy/gal, ask about stuff like this, too.
OOPs, one more think. Ants are not the friends of termites. Ants eat termite larva. If you see a line of ants marching along going into some part of your house (other than your kitchen), sit down and watch til they march back out. If they are carrying larva, then you have got termites.
I learned all this the hard way. Hope you have an easier time of it.