Plumbing Inspection in Phoenix, AZ
26% of owner-occupied homes in Phoenix have changed hands since 2018. That is an ordinary rate, which makes the ordinary mistake more likely: assuming the inspection covered the plumbing.
The one-paragraph answer
In Phoenix, 26% of owner-occupied homes have changed hands since 2018. Whichever side of a sale you are on, the exclusions decide what you know: a standard inspection stops at the visible plumbing and leaves the sewer lateral to a camera survey.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038.
When Phoenix moved in
A middling turnover figure is the least informative kind, which is its own useful fact: it means you cannot infer much about any particular house from the town, and the report on the one in front of you is the only evidence that counts.
| Owner households in Phoenix | Share of all owners |
|---|---|
| Moved in 2021 or later | 6% |
| Moved in 2018–2020 | 20% |
| Moved in 2010–2017 | 32% |
| Moved in before 2010 | 42% |
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038 (tenure by year householder moved into unit), 2023 release. Universe: 545,009 occupied housing units, of which 300,191 are owner-occupied. This counts when the CURRENT occupant moved in, so it measures recent moves as a share of the housing stock — not a rate of sales per year.
What the inspection will not cover
Water conditioning systems are excluded by ASHI outright, along with lawn irrigation, fire suppression and clothes washer connections. None of that is an inspector cutting corners; it is the published boundary of the service.
Source: InterNACHI Home Inspection Standards of Practice; ASHI Standard of Practice.
What it is required to cover
The covered list is shorter than the excluded one and it is not thin. Every fixture run, every toilet flushed, the drain-waste-vent system described, the water heater and its venting examined, the shut-offs located. That is a real morning of work and it is worth knowing it happened.
The full covered list, and why the distinction between the two lists is the whole of reading a report properly.
What to do about it
Ask a contractor what would have to be opened up to answer the question, rather than asking for a number. A quote given without that step is a guess with a figure attached to it.
Ten minutes of reading covers it: what nobody was required to look at, what they were, and the drain run that is a separate instruction altogether.
Other Arizona towns we route in
- Litchfield Park 32% of owners moved in since 2018
- Rio Verde 38% of owners moved in since 2018
- Coolidge 32% of owners moved in since 2018
- San Tan Valley 41% of owners moved in since 2018
- Marana 36% of owners moved in since 2018
Checking a plumber in Arizona
Checking a credential in Arizona
Arizona licenses are issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, which publishes a public search you can use before work begins. Arizona licenses plumbing contractors rather than individual journeymen.
Inspection report in front of you?Read us the plumbing lines and nothing else — we do not want the document. We will route you to a contractor covering your area who can quote the items on it, and you are never charged by us. Any Phoenix job at all can be put through here.
Call (888) 764-3501