Insurance/Sewer Drain Issues in Salt Lake City

[Ben Visser]

Closed on my first home (ower-occupied for now, house hacking with room mates) just a few weeks ago. Settled in about a week ago and now my basement shower backs ups when water is used anywhere in the house. After getting a camera down, there seems to be a whole and then issues further down the line.

Called so many plumbers I've lost count. One plumber referred me to this company that says the specialize in main line repair and insurance. Initially I have nothing to go off, but their word.

I have homeowners insurance, a home warranty (but they have already said "no"), and Sewer Guard warranty through the home inspectors package.

$7600 in repair estimates

This plumber says they do this all day long. Says he can get $5k from homeowners for access plus damage done to anything from the flooding. He states he has used HomeServ, but never Sewer Guard, but thinks he can get the $2k max from them.

He also stated this wasn't a new issue and should have been disclosed by seller. After moving in, the neighbor asked if my basement was dry and stated they had flooding issues in this house every few years (lesson learned: talk to neighbors before offer). Based on that info and what he saw he said their are grounds to go back to the seller and potentially sue for non-disclosure.

The plumber said the selling agent's broker should have insurance to cover this kind of non-disclosure and that they would then go after the seller instead. Anyone ever heard of this? The previous owners had to know there was an issue. The guy became really shady just as we closed and tried to back out because the market has risen so fast.

My main questions:

1. Do I trust this plumber that says 95% of his insurance claims get paid?

2. Do I raise hell with the seller agency and demand their insurance covers it (and does this option really exist?)?

3. 2nd estimate from a different plumber was about $6500, but has no insurance experience. Should I get more bids or what step to take next?