Sewer Scope - necessary?

[Kyle Kalish]

Hey all! I recently had an offer accepted on a property and the offer included the works: Appraisal, Inspection, and Financing contingencies. A couple of days later I was reminded on a podcast that a great due diligence step is to get the sewer scoped. I called a provider to get that done and they said the current owner needs to approve however, when my agent asked to owner she refused to approve the scope.

I have no reason to suspect there are any problems with the plumbing/sewer lines and neither does the current owner. Has anyone else run into this? Should I have written a scope into the offer?

Appreciate the feedback!
 

[Dan Maciejewski]

It's part of the inspections -- they don't have a choice unless they want to cancel the contract.  Unless you have a weird inspection contingency. . . 

Just find another plumber that can do the scope.  The fact that you have a contract with an inspection contingency literally means you have the owner's authorization.

If the property was built in the 70's or prior, it's definitely worth it to get the scope.  Most pipes do not have an issue but if you do, the $500 to prevent thousands lost in damages