I am wondering about a "sewer scope." Thoughts?

[Jorge Vazquez]

For what it’s worth, after 20 years and 3,500 transactions, I’ve never done one myself. I guess that makes me part of the 1%! But hey, I’m learning about it as we speak—always room to grow!

[Jorge Vazquez]

In my 20 years of experience in Florida, I've only had to replace a few of them. I usually wait until an issue arises because these problems are pretty rare.

[Caleb Brown]

90% of the time my clients do a scope. Our ground moves quite a bit and $150 is worth it to see if there is a 5K+ repair needed. Also clay tile/cast iron is very common in our area

[Bruce Woodruff]

I always do/recommend a sewer scope, especially on older homes. The cost to remedy a bad sewer line is very high, generally in the $10k and higher range.

[Allan C.]

@Bruce Woodruff I always scope now as well. I’ve had 2 properties with $20k+ sewer repairs and a few deals I’ve backed out of due to sewer issues that seller wouldn’t retrade on.

One property I didn’t scope and ate the $20k myself. On the other property seller adjusted sale price. It’s cheap insurance for a costly potential, depending on geography.

[Nick Velez]

Depends on property age but I almost always do a sewer scope, especially if the pipes are cast iron. Replacing them can be a costly nightmare that can be avoided with a simple inspection. I have had too many clients not get one, only to find collapses in the line or roots growing in to where repair was not feasible. 

[Chris Wilson]

I'll add one to consider. Drainage lines. When we bought our house they disclosed a previous flooding issue downstairs. They advised making sure that the drain in front of the garage be kept clear which we did religiously. 

What they and we didn't know was the real issue was the line itself was mostly blocked some 30' to 40' away under the driveway. We found out the hard way. In fact all of the drainage lines were compromised around the house. To be fair to them it had been a rental for 10 years and it took 3 inches of rain in 2 hours to fully expose the issue.

[Jorge Vazquez]

Are there any reputable companies in Central Florida that you would recommend?

[Adrian Lammersdorf-Scioll]

Quote from @Caleb Brown:

90% of the time my clients do a scope. Our ground moves quite a bit and $150 is worth it to see if there is a 5K+ repair needed. Also clay tile/cast iron is very common in our area

 who did you pay $150?  I paid about $500 when I got one done a few years ago.  Do you mind sharing me that contact information? XD

[Adrian Lammersdorf-Scioll]

One thing I would highly recommend that I wish I knew was ask if the seller would be willing to give a credit for a sewer scope, and get a feel for how much they will give.  I did a sewer scope one time, and it was so dirty we had to get it cleaned, and then when I asked for a credit since they didnt want to clean it at their expense, they told me they'd only give me $500 credit, which was what I paid.  The realtor was god awful as well though, she made decisions on the clients behalf without their permission multiple times haha.

[Alecia Loveless]

@Bruce Woodruff I have never done a sewer scope. I have done several independent septic inspections.

One recent property I bought the listing agent disclosed that it needed new sewer lines. I did not investigate further but took them at their word.

We replaced the sewer line and it cost about $8500. Most of the cost was the backhoe to dig up the line. It was probably about 30’.

[Jay Hinrichs]

Quote from @Jorge Vazquez:

For what it’s worth, after 20 years and 3,500 transactions, I’ve never done one myself. I guess that makes me part of the 1%! But hey, I’m learning about it as we speak—always room to grow!

No agent in the west would ever represent a buyer and not ask for a simple sewer scope. And in certain markets like SF bay area if the sewer line is of a certain age its mandatory to replace it before close of escrow its a law.

It stuns me that in some areas like I guess yours its just not done.. My thought is FLA is sandy soil and you simply dont have as much problem as other areas.. its very cheap insurance for a buyer.. and now a days 10 to 20k to replace the line is kind of the going rate.. The folks that do that work know what they can charge since your basically captive  IE the house wont work with out a new line.

[Peter Mckernan]

Yes I agree with Bruce, I had one done about 2 years ago now for a client that got me fully on board with having my clients do them all the time. The client did the scope, they found a branch in the line, and an offset. The plumber came out while in escrow stated it would be $8,800 and we got it covered by the seller to do it. 

The other example, one of my agents did one. There was an offset, but it was just past the service box for the home (city responsibility) as we saw it. The cost was going to be $13,500 for the whole project, and the buyer nor the seller was willing to pay for it. The agent contacted the city and they denied the responsibility at first then with push the city took the whole project on and saved the seller and buyer that cost.

@Jorge Vazquez

[Bruce Woodruff]

Quote from @Alecia Loveless:

@Bruce Woodruff I have never done a sewer scope. I have done several independent septic inspections.

One recent property I bought the listing agent disclosed that it needed new sewer lines. I did not investigate further but took them at their word.

We replaced the sewer line and it cost about $8500. Most of the cost was the backhoe to dig up the line. It was probably about 30’.

 Wow you are a brave lady! I would not buy a house without one. Not including septic of course because that;s an easier run.

I would do a sewer scope even if just to know if/where there were branch lines or moderate blockages.....or even the bellies. Wouldn't ya wanna know if there were a lot of bellies in the line of a house you're buying?

Like @Jay Hinrichs said, it's just cheap insurance.....

[Jay Hinrichs]

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

Quote from @Alecia Loveless:

@Bruce Woodruff I have never done a sewer scope. I have done several independent septic inspections.

One recent property I bought the listing agent disclosed that it needed new sewer lines. I did not investigate further but took them at their word.

We replaced the sewer line and it cost about $8500. Most of the cost was the backhoe to dig up the line. It was probably about 30’.

 Wow you are a brave lady! I would not buy a house without one. Not including septic of course because that;s an easier run.

I would do a sewer scope even if just to know if/where there were branch lines or moderate blockages.....or even the bellies. Wouldn't ya wanna know if there were a lot of bellies in the line of a house you're buying?

Like @Jay Hinrichs said, it's just cheap insurance.....

my clients that buy my new builds will do sewer scopes as well.. we have not had any bellies but we have had debris and rags etc stuck in them.. better to find them up front than to have a back up in a brand new 750k home LOL.. And one of them showed an issue with the city that they had to come and rectify.