What Should You Check About the Electrical System Before Buying a Home in Bonita Springs?

Find out five things: what brand and age of electrical panel the home has, what type of wiring runs through it, whether the wiring or equipment was ever under water, what outdoor equipment is wired to the home and how it has held up, and whether past electrical work has permits and a final inspection behind it. Those answers decide whether an insurer will write the home on ordinary terms, whether a repair bill is waiting behind the walls, and what to ask the seller before your inspection period ends.

I am Kris Asquith, Broker Associate at Premiere Plus Realty, and I help buyers and sellers across Bonita Springs and eight other Southwest Florida markets. Homes here run from older single-family homes near the Imperial River and Old 41 to club-community homes built across several decades and new construction east of I-75. Two homes can show equally well and carry very different electrical stories, because the panel sits behind a door and the wiring sits inside walls a showing never opens.

Because an older home often needs a four-point inspection before a Florida insurer will write the policy, and the electrical system is one of the four points, along with the roof, the plumbing and the air conditioning. The inspector records the panel brand, its amperage, the type of wiring and any visible hazards, such as scorched breakers, two wires sharing one breaker terminal, or missing covers. The insurer reads that report before it decides whether to offer coverage.

Panels from Federal Pacific Electric, especially its Stab-Lok line, and from Zinsco are the brands insurers most often flag, and some carriers will not write a home that still has one. Fuse boxes in place of breakers are another common flag. If the listing does not say what the panel is, ask, and have your inspector take the cover off and photograph the label.

Aluminum branch wiring is the main one. It was used in some homes built from the mid-1960s into the early 1970s, and the concern is the connections at outlets, switches and fixtures, where aluminum can loosen and overheat over time. Some insurers decline it outright; others accept it after a licensed electrician has made approved repairs at the connections and can document them. Ask the seller whether the home has it, and ask your inspector to look at a few outlets and the wiring inside the panel.

In homes from later decades the questions change. Ask whether the panel is original, whether its amperage matches the way the home is used today, especially if a pool heater, a car charger or a larger air conditioner has been added, and whether any part of the home was added on with wiring that never came through a permit. An addition or a converted lanai is where improvised wiring tends to turn up.

Ask, then check. Bonita Springs has seen two kinds of flooding in recent memory: the Imperial River overflowing after heavy rain, and storm surge near the bay and Bonita Beach during Hurricane Ian. Wiring, outlets and breakers that sat in water can corrode after they dry out, and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association's guidance on water-damaged electrical equipment generally points toward replacing much of it rather than drying it out and reusing it.

Florida law now requires the seller of residential property to give the buyer a written flood disclosure at or before the time the contract is signed, covering known flood damage during their ownership, flood insurance claims and repair assistance. Read it, then compare it with the permit record. If water reached the outlets and there is no electrical permit afterward, that is a question to settle before you commit. My article on finding out whether a Bonita Springs home has flooded shows how to put those records side by side.

Everything wired outside the walls, because it lives in heat, rain and, near the bay, salt air. Walk the outside of the home with your inspector and note each item and its condition.

• The meter and main disconnect. Rust, a loose mast or a cracked meter base are worth a note, and some repairs here involve the utility as well as an electrician.
• Pool and spa equipment. Pumps, heaters and lighting need correct bonding and ground-fault protection. Ask your inspector to check both, and ask how old the pool equipment is.
• A standby generator. It connects through a transfer switch, and both should have been installed under a permit by a licensed contractor. Ask for the permit, the service records and the age of the unit. A portable generator connected through an interlock on the panel should also have been permitted.
• Boat lift and dock wiring on a waterfront home. Ask whether the lift motor and dock lighting have their own circuit, ground-fault protection and a permit. My article on seawall and dock responsibility in Bonita Springs covers who maintains what on the water side.
• Landscape lighting, outdoor kitchens and car chargers. Each adds a circuit. None is a problem in itself; each is a line item to confirm works and was installed to code.

Whether major work was done properly and inspected. Replacing a panel, rewiring, adding a generator and most storm-related electrical repairs typically require permits. The City of Bonita Springs holds the permit history for homes inside its limits; a home with a Bonita Springs mailing address that sits outside the city limits falls under Lee County instead, which my article on why some Bonita Springs communities get listed as Estero helps untangle.

If the seller says the panel was replaced, the record should show it with a final inspection. If the record shows nothing but the panel is clearly new, ask who did the work and when, because you inherit unpermitted work when you buy and an insurer or a future buyer may ask about it. My article on checking the permit history before buying in Bonita Springs shows how to read the record line by line.

Usually, yes. In a condominium the electrical system is generally split between the unit owner and the association, and the declaration draws the line. Wiring and outlets that serve only your unit are often yours, while the main service, meter rooms and common-area wiring usually belong to the association. Read the documents rather than assuming.

Then ask the association whether any building-wide electrical work is planned. Older mid-rise and high-rise buildings in Florida now go through structural milestone inspections and reserve studies, and an electrical project can surface alongside that work and lead to a special assessment. My article on milestone inspections for Bonita Springs condos explains what to read before your review period ends.

Sort it into three groups: what affects insurability, what is a safety repair, and what is routine upkeep. An insurer-flagged panel, aluminum wiring without documented repairs, or evidence that flooded wiring was never replaced belong in the first two groups. Resolve those before you commit, whether by asking the seller to repair, adjusting the terms, or getting a licensed electrician's written estimate and an insurance quote so you know exactly what you are taking on. A loose cover plate or an unlabeled breaker is ordinary upkeep. Your contract sets how long you have to decide, so book any specialist the day you go under contract. My step-by-step buying process shows where the inspection period falls, and my page on buying a home in Bonita Springs covers the wider picture.

If you are selling, gather the panel or rewire permit, the generator paperwork and any electrical invoices before you list, so a buyer sees an organized record instead of a question. I am glad to go through the inspection report on a specific home with you. Get in touch or call (239) 300-1427.

This article is a general overview and is not legal, insurance or electrical advice about any particular property. Confirm the specifics with a licensed electrician, your home inspector, your insurance agent, a real estate attorney and the City of Bonita Springs or Lee County.