Is a sewer scope worth it in Columbus OH?

[Sean Haran]

Hello! Looking for advice on whether or not a sewer scope is worth it for a home in Columbus OH. Inspection company charges 400 for general inspection, plus another 200 for sewer scope. Is the sewer scope worth it/necessary if there’s not reason to believe the sewer has had any issues? House is in decent condition, some relatively new cosmetic updates, and electrical updates. Let me know what you guys think or what most people are doing/not doing

[Leo R.]

Short answer:  a sewer scope is ALWAYS worth it.

A couple hundred bucks to potentially save yourself tens of thousands, and weeks or months of lost time and vacancy? That's a no-brainer. 

Plus, even if nothing's wrong, you'll learn about one of the most important parts of the property you're buying. A scope can show you all sorts of important things other than just whether the sewer line itself is in bad condition (it will show you the material of the line, junctions, turns, tree roots, settlement points, etc.--all of which can be useful info, because it will help you understand the potential causes of problems that occur in the future). If you're not a plumbing expert, hire a scope pro who understands plumbing and can walk you through everything (or have a trusted plumber watch the scope with you and explain it).

I once bought a property where the seller had just installed a brand new sewer line. Seller told me "there's no need to scope it, it's brand new!". I had my plumber scope it anyway. Sure enough, the line from the house to the street was brand new...but the line under the slab was 60+ years old, and it was fried. A $20k time bomb just waiting to explode. The only solution: jackhammer and remove the slab over the line, dig out old the line and install a new one, backfill it, re-pour the demo'd slab, and re-finish a substantial portion of the basement...needless to say, we got some real concessions from the seller before closing (to offset not just the cost of the new line, but also the downtime, holding cost, and vacancy that had to happen while the line was being replaced).

I never buy a property without doing a scope (and it's saved me many tens of thousands of dollars, and major headaches).

Good luck out there!