On any home built before roughly 1990, yes, and the sewer camera is the part that matters most. A general home inspection is broad and shallow by design and does not run a camera through the sewer lateral, which is exactly where the expensive problems hide.
What a General Home Inspection Does and Does Not Cover
A home inspector evaluates the whole property and reports on what is visible and accessible. On plumbing, that typically means running fixtures, checking for visible leaks, noting the water heater age, and observing drainage. It is genuinely useful and it is not the same as a plumbing inspection.
What it does not include is a camera through the sewer lateral, static pressure testing at a hose bib, or an assessment of what the supply piping is made of and what condition it is in internally. Those three things are where the five-figure findings live, and none of them are visible.
Why the Sewer Camera Is the Important One
The sewer lateral runs from the house to the municipal main, underground, across your future property. Its condition cannot be assessed from inside the house at all. Replacement runs into five figures depending on depth, length, and what sits above it, and a driveway or a mature tree over the line raises that considerably.
In the older neighborhoods of Riverside, Hemet, central Corona, Diamond Bar, and the Sun City area of Menifee, laterals are frequently clay or cast iron and decades past their design life. Mature street trees planted when those homes were built have had forty or more years to find the joints. Root intrusion, cracking, offsets, and bellied sections are all routine findings.
Finding one before closing is a negotiation. Finding one after closing is a bill.
What Else Gets Checked
Static water pressure, tested with a gauge at a hose bib. Pressure failing high quietly destroys fixtures and appliances and points at a failed regulator, and nobody reports it because nothing feels wrong.
The water heater, including age from the serial number, capacity, corrosion, seismic strapping, relief valve routing, expansion tank, and venting. Water heaters are the most commonly deferred item in a home sale and the easiest to budget for once you know.
Supply piping material and condition, which tells you whether you are buying copper with decades left, galvanized steel at end of life, or polybutylene that will need replacing.
Ask for These Before You Close
- A sewer camera inspection of the lateral, with footage you can keep
- Static water pressure reading at a hose bib
- Water heater age, capacity, and code compliance
- Identification of the supply piping material
- Evidence of any past slab leak repairs
- Whether permits exist for previous plumbing work
- Condition of angle stops and supply lines at fixtures
Especially Worth It If
- The home was built before 1990
- There are mature trees between the house and the street
- The seller cannot say when the sewer lateral was last serviced
- The general inspection flagged slow drains or moisture anywhere
- The home has been vacant or a rental for a long period
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