How to use it. None of these are defects. Each is a thing to verify, and every one is verifiable during an inspection period for very little money. Keep this on your phone at showings.
What each era predicts
Phoenix-specific. The year built is public record and free to look up before you ever schedule a viewing.
- Pre-1950
- Galvanized supply at or past end of service life. Knob-and-tube remnants. Original plaster over lath. Crawlspace moisture. Cast iron waste lines at joint-failure age.
- 1950–1970
- Cast iron and clay sewer laterals. Original single-pane aluminum windows. Undersized 60–100A service. Slab-on-grade with no vapor barrier.
- 1970–1990
- Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels. Polybutylene supply (roughly 1978–1995). Aluminum branch wiring in some 1965–1975 stock. Original evaporative cooling conversions.
- 1990–2005
- EIFS stucco where the drainage detail was omitted. First-generation Polybutylene still in service. Early low-E windows with failed seals. Original HVAC now well past design life.
- 2005–present
- Generally sound envelopes. Watch for post-2008 cost-cutting on flashing details, builder-grade water heaters undersized for hard water, and additions permitted after the fact — or not permitted at all.
Two failure modes worth memorising
- Polybutylene supply, ~1978–1995
- Grey flexible plastic supply pipe, usually visible at the water heater or main shutoff. Degrades from the inside with chlorinated water and fails without much warning. If present, it is a repipe — and that belongs in the offer.
- Federal Pacific & Zinsco panels
- Documented breaker failure modes — breakers that may not trip under fault. Common in 1970s–80s valley stock. Many insurers will not write a policy over them, which makes it a financing problem before it is a safety one.
Sharon Smith · REALTOR® · Keller Williams Realty Sonoran Living · AZ Lic. SA722108000 · (262) 903-0876 · sharonsmithaz.com
General information, not legal, tax, or engineering advice. Inspection costs are typical ranges, not quotes.
Not sure what you are looking at?
Send me the address and the year built. I will tell you what I would check on that specific house, in writing, with no obligation attached.