Why a sewer scope is the best $100 your buyers will ever spend

I always recommend that my buyers have a sewer scope as one of the many additional inspections that can be performed besides just a home inspection. With so many old houses in the Portland, Oregon metroplex, it is more than likely that most of these homes have their original sewer lines and most of them are old and deteriorating.

A sewer replacement can cost a buyer $1000's of dollars if not addressed during the initial inspection period and is typically something that can be avoided and negotiated with the seller to repair or replace. Relatively inexpensive, this procedure only costs the buyer $100 and in return a dvd or video will be given to them. It should be performed by a licensed underground plumbing specialist. The process consists of running a fiber-optic camera down the home's sewer connection out to the street where it meets the city's main sewer.The cameras are set up the show distance down the sewer line so if there are any breaks, roots, standing water, rodents etc, the tape is stopped, the speciallist goes out to the yard and immediately locates where the problem is, typically by marking it with spray paint. At that point, the specialist will evaluate whether the line must be replaced or if it is just a spot repair. These replacements typically cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $2500-$4500 depending on the extent of the damage and the length of the sewer line being replaced. At this point the replacement should be negotiated between the buyer and seller in a repair addendum.

In certain situations it is discovered during the scope that the sewer line shares a line with the next door neighbor. This is called a party sewer line. Because the city no longer allows party sewer lines, at this point the seller has to separate from the shared line. Depending on which property has the lateral will depend on the cost of the separation. If the sewer line actually runs through the seller's property and he has the rights to it, it will indeed cost the neighbor more money to separate and get their own sewer line installed. The seller at this point would only need to replace the existing line. If in fact the line runs through the neighbor's property, the seller is then required to put in his own line. These types of separations sometimes cost in excess of $10,000. Luckily the City of Portland recently approved a subsidy to share the cost with homeowners in replacing party sewer lines with individual connections to the city's main sewer in order to ease the shock of the cost to both buyer and seller.***Shea Steel, Portland, Oregon Realtor