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Plumbing Inspection in California

Across the 257 California towns we route calls in, 17% of owner households moved in during 2018 or later. Every one of those sales came with an inspection, and every one of those inspections excluded the same list of things.

The one-paragraph answer

In California, 17% of owner households across the 257 covered towns arrived in 2018 or later. The exclusions are the part worth reading: a home inspection covers what can be seen and operated, and a buried lateral is neither.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038.

PresalePipe is a referral service, not a contractor or a home inspector. We connect homeowners and buyers with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands. Every state page sets out who licenses plumbers there and where to check, so you can confirm before work begins. We carry out no inspections and no work, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call.

Turnover across California

Towns in CaliforniaCount
Change hands often (28% of owners or more since 2018)13
About the middle (16–28%)123
Rarely change hands (under 16%)121

The spread inside the state is the point. March Air Reserve Base is highest at 100% of owners having arrived since 2018; Willow Creek is lowest at 0%. A state figure describes neither of them.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038, 2023 release. Weighted across 6,643,425 occupied housing units, of which 3,474,641 are owner-occupied. This measures recent moves as a share of the housing stock, not sales per year.

The largest towns we route in California

TownOwners who moved in since 2018Occupied homes
Los Angeles16%804,472
San Francisco18%361,770
Bakersfield23%183,033
Long Beach16%174,325
Oakland19%167,478
Irvine24%111,979
Anaheim16%110,114
Riverside20%105,741

What is excluded, everywhere

The exclusions do not vary by state. Both InterNACHI and ASHI describe the inspection as covering readily accessible, visually observable systems and state that it is not technically exhaustive. Both exclude wells and pumps, septic and wastewater treatment, water quality and potability, fire sprinklers and gas leak testing. InterNACHI additionally names water flow and pressure, floor drains, shower pan testing and polybutylene piping.

What varies by town is how many people here have recently had a report in their hands to read the exclusions in. The full list is on its own page.

Source: InterNACHI Home Inspection Standards of Practice; ASHI Standard of Practice.

Checking a plumber in California

Checking a credential in California

California licenses are issued by the Contractors State License Board, which publishes a public search you can use before work begins. California licenses the C-36 plumbing contractor; there is no state journeyman license.

Towns we route in California

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. Inspections are the theme here; calls of every kind are routed.

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