After your inspection, you ask the seller to fix certain items, and they agree. A reinspection is when your inspector goes back before closing to check that the work was done, and done right. Here are three reinspections I did around the Valley. In every one, something was not finished.
1. A truss repair with no engineer and a breaker behind the cover
The buyer asked for a structural engineer to repair a damaged attic truss. A board was sistered over the cut, but there was no engineer’s sticker or approval, and many of the nails did not fully penetrate. It may hold, but I could not say it was repaired properly. It turned out the seller’s dad did the work.
- A double-tapped breaker was fixed by adding a new breaker, but it was installed behind the panel cover without breaking out the knockout, and it was not labeled.
- The dishwasher was finally installed, but the hot and cold lines were backwards at the faucet.
- The GFCI outlets were fixed, and the water heater was no longer leaking.
- The attic insulation still was not secured. With the thermal camera, I could see a missing section above the fireplace.
2. Following up on another inspector’s report
I covered this reinspection for another inspector. The roof replacement the buyer asked for was not happening until weeks later, and the termite tubes in the garage were still there. Removing tubes does not remove termites, so ask for the treatment paperwork and warranty. Some items were done, like replaced conduit, recalled breakers swapped out and a new water heater with a drain pan. Others were not:
- Holes under windows and doors were only partly sealed.
- The washer valve was still leaking. The request said “fix known leaks,” and this one was not listed by number, so it was skipped. Wording matters on your repair request.
- A pressure reducing valve was installed, but one hose bib upstream of it still had about 100 PSI.
3. A dishwasher with no water line
This one looked good at first: loose wiring removed, smoke detectors added, a cracked patio column replaced and bracketed. But the water heater pan still had water in it, the shower re-grout left pinholes and an open gap at the top, the AC condensate was dripping into an open edge of the flat roof and the new dishwasher had a drain line but no water supply at all. It could never have run.
How to get the most out of a reinspection
- List items by report number in your repair request, not “fix all leaks.”
- Ask for invoices and who did the work. Licensed contractors and engineers leave paperwork.
- Consider a credit instead. Sometimes it is easier to take money off the price and hire your own licensed contractor.
- Schedule the reinspection with time to spare before your closing date.
Reinspections in Gilbert and the Phoenix area
If I inspected your home, I can come back and check the repairs before you close. Based in Gilbert, we do inspections and reinspections across Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler and the rest of the Valley. Before you hire anyone for repairs, check their contractor license. Every home inspection includes a termite (WDO) inspection at no extra charge, plus a 1-year termite warranty through Firehouse Pest Control in Gilbert if no active termites are found.
Buying a home? Book your inspection online or call 623-399-0079.
Property Inspections Plus is a Gilbert, AZ home inspection company led by Certified Master Inspector Dan Pierce. We inspect homes across the East Valley, the Phoenix metro and the rest of Arizona. See all of our service areas.
