The plumbing items on a Florida 4-point inspection, and how to pass them

If you own or are buying an older home in Lee or Collier County, your insurance company will probably ask for a 4-point inspection before it writes or renews the policy. It is a short report on four systems: roof, electrical, heating and air, and plumbing. The inspector fills out a standard form with photos and sends it in. The insurer reads it and decides. The plumbing page is one of the four, and it is one where a little preparation makes the difference between a clean report and a decline.

What a 4-point is and when it is required

A 4-point is not a full home inspection. It does not test every fixture or crawl the attic. It is an insurer’s snapshot: what the systems are made of, how old they are, and whether anything is visibly failing. Florida carriers generally require one on homes past a certain age, often around 30 years, and some ask for one on younger homes or at any policy change.

The inspector is not the decision-maker. The inspector records what is there. The underwriter at the insurer decides whether it is acceptable and whether something must be fixed.

What the plumbing section covers

• Supply pipe material. The inspector looks at visible pipe at the water heater, under sinks, and where the main enters, and checks a box: copper, CPVC, PEX, galvanized steel, polybutylene, or other. Polybutylene is the one that leads to declines.
• Drain pipe material. PVC, ABS, cast iron, or other. Cast iron is common in homes built before the mid 1970s, and while it is not an automatic fail, visible corrosion, a past repair, or a history of backups gets noted. Some carriers ask for a camera inspection on cast iron.
• Water heater age and condition. The manufacture date from the serial number, the type, and the condition: rust, a corroded relief valve, a missing drain pan, a discharge line that ends nowhere. Many carriers flag a heater past a certain age, commonly around 15 years, and some ask for replacement.
• Visible leaks and past damage. Active drips, stains under sinks, water marks on ceilings, corroded shutoff valves, and evidence of a prior leak that was not repaired. The inspector photographs what they see.
• Washing machine hoses. Rubber hoses are a common comment; braided stainless is the expected answer.
• Other items vary by form: the main shutoff, the presence of a backflow device, a well and pressure tank, a septic system, and any plumbing that looks like an unpermitted alteration.

What fails a 4-point

In practice, the plumbing section fails for a short list of reasons:

• Polybutylene anywhere in the house. This is the most common plumbing decline in older homes here, and many carriers will not write the policy until it is gone.
• An active leak or water damage that has not been repaired.
• A water heater past the carrier’s age limit, or one with visible rust, a failed relief valve, or no pan where one is required.
• Cast iron drains with visible failure or a history of backups, especially with any sign of a sewer smell or a patched section.
• Galvanized supply with heavy corrosion.
• Unpermitted or amateur plumbing that the inspector can see: a water heater with no permit record, a repipe with mismatched materials, or a fitting that is clearly wrong.

How to prepare before the inspector arrives

Walk the house the way the inspector will, a week before the appointment, not the morning of.

1. Identify your pipe materials. Look at the water heater connections, under every sink, and at the main. If anything is gray plastic, or you cannot tell, get it identified before the inspection, not during.
2. Find the water heater’s manufacture date from the serial number and write it down. If the tank is near the age limit, decide now whether to replace it before the report or after.
3. Fix every visible drip. Angle stops, supply lines, a weeping relief valve, a dripping hose bib. Small, and each one is a photo in the report.
4. Replace rubber washing machine hoses with braided stainless.
5. Dry and clean under every sink. A stain from an old leak that was fixed years ago still looks like a leak to a camera.
6. Make sure the water heater has a pan and a discharge line that goes where it should.
7. Clear access. The inspector needs to see the water heater, the main, and under the sinks. A closet full of boxes gets a “not visible” that can hurt as much as a fail.
8. Gather paperwork. Permits for a repipe, a water heater, or a sewer line repair. A camera inspection report on cast iron. A plumber’s invoice for a repair. These are what turn a comment into a closed item.

What a plumber can fix or document ahead of time

A licensed plumber does two things for a 4-point. The first is the repairs: replacing the water heater with a permit, clearing the drip list, replacing a corroded valve, or repiping polybutylene or galvanized before the inspection rather than after the decline. The second is the paperwork. A letter from a licensed plumbing contractor stating the supply material, the drain material, the water heater’s date and condition, and the work performed, with the permit numbers, is what many underwriters accept when the inspector’s form is ambiguous or when a repair was made after the report.

This is where DIY stops. You can tighten a packing nut, swap washer hoses, and clean under the sinks. You cannot self-certify a repipe, replace a water heater without a permit and expect a carrier to accept it, or write a letter an underwriter will read.

The inspector reports, the insurer decides

The report is a record, not a verdict. If it comes back with plumbing comments, you will usually get a list of what the carrier wants fixed or documented and a window to do it. Take the report seriously, fix what is real, and get the paperwork in order.

If you have a 4-point coming up, or one has come back with plumbing items, send us the report or a few photos of your water heater and the pipe under a sink. We will tell you what is likely to be a problem, what we can fix, and what we can put in writing for the underwriter.