HELP!!! Major sewer leak under slab unexpected!

[Jamie Wooley]

I have a rehab property here in Garland and I finished the foundation only to get the call from the company telling me I had a leak.  Of course I got a second opinion my neighbor who owns a plumbing company to go out and he also verified yes, sewer leak.  They ran the camera and there are multiple leaks throughout the home.  The house is cast iron plumbing large tree roots have grown into some of the plumbing we believe because the camera hit dirt and would not push through.  I did not account for this at all.  Please tell me my options here on all levels!!! They quoted $15,000 to redo all the plumbing. Oh my, no way!  1463 sq ft home.  Btw I have not put any flooring down I left that to do last of course, if that matters in the options I have.

So, does anyone know another company, another solution.  Can I sell the house without the warranty for the foundation and still get a conventional buyer???  The house plumbing works wonderfully.  I am totally at a loss here on my next move and could really use some advice.  I thought I knew all the BIG TICKET ITEMS, apparently I overlooked a major one!!! Wow do I feel like a fool!  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks so much!  I need to figure something out like yesterday! 

[Hattie Dizmond]

Jamie,

The real problem is the cast iron pipes.  They rust and deteriorate, which can make repairs difficult to impossible.  If the pipes have copious amounts of dirt in them, the quote makes sense, because they have little to no way to find all of the leaks.  I'm not sure where @Mark Gallagher came up with $150, because that will cover just the supplies, assuming a sleeve type of repair.  The major cost in almost all plumbing issues is labor.  Busting out sections of the foundation, digging down to the pipe and then doing the repair, covering and rebuilding the foundation are all quite labor intensive.  

Did you not get a home inspection prior to closing?  At the very least the inspector should have told you there were cast iron pipes, which would have raised a flag of concern.

Also, the leak may or may not prevent underwriting.  It would likely depend on the type of financing.  However, you know about the problem, so you would have to disclose it.  Any savvy realtor will advise their client to get a quote and then ask for you to either make the repair or reduce the price.