House Hunting? Don’t Skip A Sewer Inspection For Your Home Purchase!
If you’re a first-time home buyer or current homeowner looking for an upgrade, make sure spacious square footage, beds and baths aren’t the only items on your wishlist: a reliable home sewer system is essential for a smooth homeowner experience. Sure, your home’s sewer line isn’t as glamorous to imagine as a picturesque porch or sprawling lawn, but it’s nonetheless important to the functionality of your future home. Before you inherit a failing sewer system and associated plumbing problems, consider proactively scheduling a sewer inspection for your home purchase. If scoping a sewer line uncovers no issues, congratulations, you’re in the clear! But if problems are brewing beneath your future home, you’re better off knowing before you sign on the dotted line.
The Importance Of Sewer Inspections For Home Buying Confidence
Scheduling a sewer inspection during the home buying process puts the buyer in control and ensures you’ll have a safe and functioning sewer system. If urgent issues are detected, ask the seller to pay for repairs before you move in. For minor issues, develop an informed maintenance plan to prevent future plumbing problems.
Either way, a sewer inspection before your home purchase ensures you’re not stuck eating the costs of an aging home sewer system that has likely been in use for decades. Many old homes still have their original sewer lines installed, consisting of crumbling Orangeburg or clay materials that have become a liability over time. As a home buyer, whatever condition the home sewer system is in when you buy the home is the condition you’ll become responsible for if pipes act up in the future. While your town’s municipal sewer main does the majority of the work transferring wastewater to a treatment facility, the sewer line (also known as a lateral) connecting your home’s wastewater to the municipal main is your responsibility to maintain as a homeowner.
Once you’ve moved into your new home and plumbing issues emerge, it’s too late to take a proactive approach to plan for repair costs. Instead, every decision you make becomes reactive as you must now pay to restore your plumbing. Unplanned expenses and property damage are easy to avoid with a home inspection sewer scope designed to make the unknown known before you’ve reached the point of no return.
What Is A Sewer Scope & How Long Does It Take?
A sewer scope is a small, flexible camera professionals use for sewer line camera inspections. Through scope technology, trained technicians study the condition of home sewer systems from a screen, identifying issues within pipe interiors. Because there’s no digging and footage displays in real-time, scoping a sewer line typically takes an hour or less.
If you’re eager to put an offer in on a home, good news: you don’t have to wait for a sewer scope home inspection. Instead, work with your realtor to add a contingency to your offer that includes a scheduled sewer inspection before your home purchase is finalized. Contingencies allow you to move forward with your offer and get one step closer toward owning a home, while also giving you wiggle room if issues are detected during the scheduled inspection. If repairs are needed, you can renegotiate with the seller to cover costs or lower the asking price.
Worst case scenario, you still have the ability to take back your offer if the contingency isn’t met, and you can get back to finding a home that has what you need to feel comfortable moving in. Either way, a sewer line camera inspection provides peace of mind so you know exactly what you’re walking into or so you can walk away if needed.
The Benefits Of Scoping A Sewer Line Before You Close On A Home
Scoping a sewer line is a cost-effective and non-invasive process that will save you money and major headaches as a homeowner. Early detection of debris, blockages, cracks or leaks allows for the appropriate intervention before issues escalate and cause major damage to your pipes and property. You wouldn’t move into a home without knowing if the home’s foundation is secure and stable for you and your family, nor should you purchase a house without knowing the status of the home sewer system. Whether you’re able to negotiate with the seller before moving in or you decide to buy the house as is, a sewer inspection before home buying sets you up to save money down the line.
Even if you do decide to absorb the costs of sewer repairs upon moving into your home, the initial inspection allows you to develop a plan of action and know your options, including sewer cleaning and rehabilitation solutions that don’t require digging up your yard.
What To Expect From A Sewer Scope During The Home Inspection Process
A sewer inspection can take place during the home buying contingency period, but be sure to hire professionals who specialize in home sewer systems since traditional home inspectors aren’t equipped to address plumbing concerns. Trained sewer professionals know to look for common issues like tree roots, grease and clogs.
If Your Home Sewer System Gets The All Clear
If no pressing damage is detected, you can move into your new home with confidence that your home plumbing is in tip-top shape. Once you take possession of your new home, find local sewer professionals you can trust in case of a plumbing emergency or to schedule sewer line maintenance. Annual inspections are a great way to keep an eye on your home sewer system so no looming issues catch you and your wallet off guard. Plus, a clear, well-maintained sewer line allows wastewater to pass seamlessly from your home to the municipal sewer main, making your utilities more efficient and preventing needlessly high water bills.
If A Sewer Line Camera Inspection Detects Tree Roots Or Debris
One of the most common issues our team at CME Sewer Repair sees when scoping home sewer lines is invasive tree roots lodged within the sewer line. Moisture from the pipe feeds nearby tree roots, causing them to grow toward the nutrients and get tangled up with other debris and items flushed away from your home. Sewer and drain cleaning techniques are the most successful at clearing away tree roots and debris. CME depends on our trenchless hydro jetting process which works best to blast away tricky sewer blockages and provide a clear flow path for your sewer line.
If Your Home Sewer System Requires Further Rehab
The biggest warning signs during a sewer line camera inspection are leaks, cracks or structural deficiencies in the sewer line making it more susceptible to crumble or collapse altogether. The benefit of a sewer inspection to protect your home purchase is if these issues are caught in the early stages, the home sewer system may be eligible for trenchless pipe lining. No-dig rehabilitation removes many of the hassles associated with a sewer line replacement, as the pipe lining process essentially restores a sewer line to good-as-new condition by firming up and sealing the existing sewer line.
Much like scoping a sewer line is efficient, cost-effective and minimally invasive, CME’s trenchless pipe lining techniques also provide homeowners with cost savings and convenience compared to a full-on sewer line replacement. Think about it: the last thing you want to do upon moving in is dig up your yard to replace a failing sewer line. Most homes have sewer lines running beneath their front lawn, driveway or patio, meaning the curb appeal you loved so much about your new home could go down the drain if dug up—literally. For old sewer lines with severe blockages or even a structural collapse, those risks could become reality—that is, unless you do your due diligence as a home buyer and schedule a home inspection sewer scope to detect and plan ahead to resolve issues before they escalate. CME Sewer Repair makes it easy for house hunters to get started with a free sewer line camera inspection for peace of mind as you finalize your home purchase. If we notice major concerns, we also offer financing options for our cost-effective trenchless pipe repair solutions to help restore your home’s sewer line to move-in ready condition.
Contact CME Sewer Repair For A Free Sewer Line Camera Inspection & Peace Of Mind For Your Home Sewer System
CME Sewer Repair has decades of experience serving homeowners across major metro areas like Cincinnati, OH, Louisville, KY, and Kansas City, MO. We prepare and protect home buyers with timely sewer line repair solutions and ongoing sewer line camera inspections and maintenance to keep sewer lines in line. Our team has the extensive training, innovative technology and trenchless access necessary to give home buyers a headstart with fully functional home sewer systems. Contact us online to get started with a free sewer scope home inspection or to learn more about our residential sewer services.
Get Started With A Free Sewer Inspection