It is not a home inspection and it is not a legal requirement. It is an underwriting document, and understanding what it is actually for saves a great deal of wasted time.
A four-point inspection is a short report on four systems — roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC — that a property insurer asks for before writing or renewing a policy on an older home. It exists because those four systems cause most expensive claims.
It is not required by any Florida statute. No inspector is going to fine you for not having one. What happens instead is simpler and more annoying: your carrier declines to cover the property.
The trigger is almost always the age of the building. Most carriers start asking somewhere around thirty years, though the threshold varies — some begin at twenty-five, and Citizens Property Insurance operates its own rules.
In practice you will meet it in four situations. Buying an older rental, where the carrier wants it before binding cover and the lender wants the cover before closing. Renewing on a property over thirty, because carriers re-underwrite and increasingly ask for a current report even on a policy that has run for years. Moving carrier, which counts as a new application. And after a significant claim, which can prompt a review of the whole risk.
The one that catches people out is renewal. Landlords assume an existing policy will roll over. Increasingly it does not, and the request arrives with a deadline attached.
Covering type, age, visible damage, and estimated remaining useful life. This is where most declines originate. Carriers generally want three to five years of life left; many will not write a shingle roof past about fifteen years, or tile and metal past about twenty-five. Age is evidenced from the permit record rather than from an opinion, which matters if a previous owner re-roofed without pulling one.
Panel make and amperage, wiring type, and the presence of anything the market refuses. Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels are declined outright by most carriers. Aluminium branch wiring, common in homes built roughly between 1965 and 1973, generally needs remediation before cover is offered. Knob-and-tube, cloth-sheathed wiring, fuse boxes and open splices are all stoppers.
Supply and drain material, water heater age, and evidence of leaks past or present. Polybutylene supply pipe — grey plastic, installed roughly 1978 to 1995 — is effectively uninsurable and needs a repipe. Cast iron drains in mid-century homes are increasingly queried.
Age, type, condition, and whether it runs on the day. A system past about fifteen years gets flagged. A system that will not start cannot be passed, which is why an inspection on a vacant property with the power off is a wasted visit.
This surprises people. A four-point has no formal result. The report goes to an underwriter, and the underwriter does one of three things: declines, offers cover on restricted terms, or asks for a finding to be corrected within a stated period.
Restricted terms are worth understanding, because they are easy to accept without noticing. The most common is cover on the roof at actual cash value rather than replacement cost, which means depreciation is deducted. On a fifteen-year-old roof that is the difference between a cheque that replaces it and a cheque that covers a fraction.
The inspection itself is inexpensive. The cost sits in what it turns up, and the four common findings are not small:
The expensive mistake is sequencing. Landlords book the inspection, get a report with a Federal Pacific panel on it, lose the policy, then start looking for an electrician, then book a second inspection to evidence the fix. That is weeks, two inspection fees, and a gap in cover.
Ask your carrier how old a report they will accept before you book. Some take one up to a year old, some stretch to three or five years, some want it dated within ninety days. Getting this wrong is the single most common reason an inspection has to be redone.
Have the utilities on. Water live, power on, HVAC able to run. An incomplete report is a repeat visit.
Make sure the panel and water heater are reachable. Stored belongings in front of a panel means the inspector cannot open it.
Get the permit history first. If the roof was replaced and no permit exists, the record still shows the old age. Better to know before the underwriter does.
Use someone who can also do the remedial work. Not essential, but it removes the second round of phone calls and the gap between report and fix.
No. A home inspection is commissioned by a buyer and covers the whole property in detail. A four-point is a short underwriting document covering four systems, written for an insurer. If you are buying an older rental you generally need both, and one will not substitute for the other.
There is no statutory expiry — it is entirely up to the carrier. Anywhere from ninety days to five years depending on who is underwriting. Ask before you book.
Not formally, because there is no pass mark. What happens is that the underwriter reads the report and declines, restricts terms, or requires a correction. In practice landlords call that failing, and the fix is the same either way.
No, but someone must let the inspector in and the utilities must be on. Tenants are entitled to proper notice, and the visit is short.
Then the carrier declines the risk. You are not breaking any law, but you may find yourself unable to insure the property with anyone other than a surplus lines carrier at a considerably higher premium.
One call for the inspection, the repair, or just a straight answer about what applies to your property.