As professionals, we have to recommend sewer inspections. Failing sewer lines are unfortunately common. Our housing stock’s sewer lines are way older than their materials were designed for, and as you can guess, that leads to some serious problems. If something breaks, it’s a huge expense for a buyer to take on. It’s common practice in Seattle for brokers to recommend that buyers get a sewer inspection and a structural inspection before buying—but let’s dig into that recommendation a little deeper.
When you NEED a sewer inspection: We’ve seen many new homes that still have old sewer lines. An owner will often knock down an older home and build a new one in its place, but the owner builds that new house on the old, damaged sewer line. In cases like this, always get a sewer inspection.
When you SHOULD get a sewer inspection: Other times, a house is new through and through. These brand-new sewer lines a buyers later default on their loan, the banks gets the property back, and they will want to be able to recover what they loaned out for it. The buyer pays for the appraisal.
Bonus points if you know the movie with the famous sewer scene pictures above! Leave a comment below with your answer.
