4-Point and Home Inspection Repairs for Realtors and Investors

What a 4-point inspection looks at

Many Florida insurers ask for a 4-point inspection before they will write or renew a policy on an older home. A licensed inspector reports on four systems: the roof, the electrical, the plumbing and the HVAC. We fix the plumbing and HVAC items. The roof and the electrical panel need other trades.

• Pipe type. Polybutylene and galvanized supply pipe are the most common reasons a home’s plumbing gets flagged.
• Leaks. Active leaks and signs of past leaks or water damage at fixtures, under sinks and around the water heater.
• Water heater. Its age and condition, and whether it is leaking or rusting.
• HVAC. The system’s age, whether it works, and its general condition.

Each insurer sets its own rules. Citizens Property Insurance’s FAQ says it requires a 4-point inspection for homes more than 20 years old, and that a home with polybutylene piping may be eligible only if the dwelling is 20 years old or newer and shows no leaks or water damage. Polybutylene was installed until about 1995, so nearly every home that still has it is older than that. Ask the insurance agent what their carrier requires.

Common fixes after an inspection, and what they cost

These prices come from our price book. The diagnosis is FREE, and your written quote is the final price.

On repipes, water heater installs and AC replacements we pull the permit and schedule the inspection, and the permit fee is billed separately. Repipe prices depend on the size of the home, the number of bathrooms and how the pipes are run.

How we help each side of the deal

• Listing agents and sellersFix the HVAC and plumbing items before the home hits the market, or as soon as the buyer’s report comes in. Florida sellers generally have to disclose known defects that materially affect a home’s value and are not easy to see (the Florida Supreme Court’s 1985 Johnson v. Davis decision), so a repair with a paid invoice and a closed permit is easier to explain than an open item. Your realtor or attorney can tell you how that applies to you.
• Buyer’s agents and buyersBook a FREE diagnosis during the inspection period and get a written quote you can use to ask for the repair or a credit. We price what the item actually needs, not a worst-case guess.
• House flippersRepipes, water heaters, AC systems and ductwork for resale, with permits pulled and closed, and photos of the work you can keep for your records.
• Buy-and-hold investorsOne account for every property, invoice terms for approved accounts and priority scheduling. See our page for property managers and landlords.
• Home inspectorsWe do not do home or 4-point inspections, so we never compete with you. When your client needs a plumbing or HVAC item fixed or priced, send them our way.
• Insurance agentsWhen a carrier asks for a repipe, a new water heater or a working AC before binding a policy, we diagnose for FREE and quote in writing.

How it works

1. Send the reportEmail the inspection report to service@callhometherapist.com or text photos of the pages to (813) 343-2212, with the closing date.
2. FREE visitA licensed tech confirms each item at the home. Vacant homes are fine; leave us the lockbox code or meet us there.
3. Written quoteYou get a written price for each item, ready to share with the other side.
4. Repair and paperworkWe do the work, pull and close the permits it needs, and send the invoice and photos.

Tell us the closing date on the first call. If a job like a full repipe cannot be finished before it, we will tell you up front.

Selling a home with polybutylene or galvanized pipes

You can sell a Florida home with polybutylene pipes. The harder part is the buyer’s insurance: many carriers will not write a policy on it, and without insurance a lender will not fund the loan. That is why most of these deals end in a repipe before closing or a credit for one.

• Polybutylene is the gray plastic supply pipe used in many homes built from about 1978 to 1995. When one fitting fails, others often follow. Read our polybutylene guide.
• Galvanized steel pipe rusts from the inside, which shows up as low pressure and brown water.
• Cast iron drains in older homes crack and scale. A sewer camera inspection shows their condition before you price a replacement.
• The fix is usually a whole-home repipe. Uponor PEX-A is our preferred pipe, and we also repipe with CPVC or copper when it fits the job better. See how much repiping costs in Tampa.

Guides and job records on old pipes and repairs

Written from our own jobs around Tampa Bay. Customer names and street numbers are left out.

Accounts for investors and brokerages

If you buy, flip or manage more than one home, an account keeps the paperwork in one place.

• Certificate of insurance on requestWe email a certificate of insurance ($1M general liability, plus workers’ comp) and a W-9 when you ask, so you can set us up as a vendor before the first visit.
• Invoice terms for approved accountsApproved business accounts can pay on invoice terms instead of paying at the time of service.
• One account for every propertyOne contact and consolidated invoices across all of your locations or rentals. Each invoice shows the address the work was done at.
• Priority schedulingAccount customers get priority on our schedule. We are open 24 hours, 7 days a week, and there is no after-hours trip or dispatch fee.
• FREE diagnosis, written quotesThe diagnosis and the estimate are FREE. You approve a written quote before any work starts, so there are no surprise invoices.
• Photos of the workOur techs photograph what they find and what they fix, and we can send the photos with the invoice.

Where we do inspection repairs

We serve the three counties of Tampa Bay from our shop at 1408 W Linebaugh Ave in Tampa.

See every city and ZIP code we serve

Realtor, seller and investor questions

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