I have done a lot of "owner builder" work around my house and the county was good with me ... but I didn't try to trick them on anything and I did have my ducks in a row when they got here.
I do think they encourage owner builder permits and they are more helpful than they legally need to be, simply because it is safer to spend a little extra time with the HO than to have them work without any inspection at all.
In the end it is still supposed to be about safety, not revenue. I would understand if they imposed an extra fee on owner builder if they were willing to spend some extra time.
It might be a way to save an extra inspector job or two.
If I was disappointed about anything it was the minimal amount of stuff they actually looked at.
