Home inspections in San Antonio, TX

In San Antonio, a sewer problem on your side of the property line is generally yours to fix. When a drain backs up, SAWS tells customers to have a licensed plumber televise the line, inspecting it with a video camera, and clear any blockage on their side of the main. SAWS clears and repairs blockages and collapsed pipe on its own side.

SAWS reimburses a plumber’s locating costs only when the break or blockage is in the public right-of-way, street or alley, and it does not pay for repairs or replacement of damaged property. Its Laterals to People program helps eligible residential customers repair the sewer lateral from outside the home to the property line.

A sewer scope puts the same kind of camera in the line before you buy, running from the clean-out toward the city tap and back, looking for roots, breaks, sags and debris. Unless it has been replaced, the line under the yard is as old as the house.

Sewer Scope Inspections

In San Antonio, exterior modifications and repairs to a property with a historic zoning overlay need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the city’s Office of Historic Preservation before the work begins. The rule covers homes and commercial buildings, and side and rear yards as well as what faces the street.

Minor projects can usually be approved by staff without a hearing, but work started without approval can bring a stop work order and an added fee. The city’s Explorer Map shows whether an address is zoned historic.

If you are selling a historic property, a pre-listing inspection gives you time to plan exterior repairs and their approval before buyers arrive. If you are buying one, read the exterior items in your report with that review in mind, and a repair verification visit can confirm the work once it is done.

Pre-Listing InspectionsRepair Verification InspectionsCommercial Property Inspections