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Plumbing Inspection in Massachusetts

Across the 175 Massachusetts towns we route calls in, 19% of owner households moved in during 2018 or later. Every one of those sales came with an inspection, and every one of those inspections excluded the same list of things.

The one-paragraph answer

Across the 175 Massachusetts towns covered here, 19% of owner households moved in during 2018 or later. Nearly every one of those sales involved an inspection, and every one of those inspections excluded the buried sewer lateral.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038.

PresalePipe is a referral service, not a contractor or a home inspector. We connect homeowners and buyers with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands. Every state page sets out who licenses plumbers there and where to check, so you can confirm before work begins. We carry out no inspections and no work, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call.

Turnover across Massachusetts

Towns in MassachusettsCount
Change hands often (28% of owners or more since 2018)5
About the middle (16–28%)120
Rarely change hands (under 16%)50

The spread inside the state is the point. South Boston is highest at 32% of owners having arrived since 2018; Prides Crossing is lowest at 0%. A state figure describes neither of them.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038, 2023 release. Weighted across 1,694,632 occupied housing units, of which 1,024,909 are owner-occupied. This measures recent moves as a share of the housing stock, not sales per year.

The largest towns we route in Massachusetts

TownOwners who moved in since 2018Occupied homes
Boston27%70,349
Cambridge19%49,732
Quincy17%45,526
Lowell23%42,383
Lynn22%36,328
Somerville24%35,295
Dorchester17%33,281
Lawrence24%31,009

What is excluded, everywhere

The exclusions do not vary by state. Both InterNACHI and ASHI describe the inspection as covering readily accessible, visually observable systems and state that it is not technically exhaustive. Both exclude wells and pumps, septic and wastewater treatment, water quality and potability, fire sprinklers and gas leak testing. InterNACHI additionally names water flow and pressure, floor drains, shower pan testing and polybutylene piping.

What varies by town is how many people here have recently had a report in their hands to read the exclusions in. The full list is on its own page.

Source: InterNACHI Home Inspection Standards of Practice; ASHI Standard of Practice.

Checking a plumber in Massachusetts

Checking a credential in Massachusetts

Massachusetts licenses are issued by the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, which publishes a public search you can use before work begins.

Towns we route in Massachusetts

Inspection report in front of you?Read us the plumbing lines and nothing else — we do not want the document. We will route you to a contractor covering your area who can quote the items on it, and you are never charged by us. Inspections are the theme here; calls of every kind are routed.

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