Homebuyers: Do You Know Your House Inside-Out?

• Jun 01, 2016
• electric-admin
• 0

As a first-time home buyer, you have plenty to worry about. You’re busy juggling loans, agents, and moving practicalities.

However, we’d like to make a case for one step that most home buyers overlook. It’s probably the most often-regretted oversight: a sewer inspection!

Standard Home Inspections Don’t Cover Everything

While standard home inspections include a cursory survey of the pipes and water fixtures in a house, they usually don’t get into the nitty gritty. Many homeowners don’t know that they’re also responsible for the connection between the house and city main, an area that will also need to be inspected. Many potential plumbing problems won’t be noticeable on the surface. A thorough inspection of the sewage system requires special tools and know-how.

In older houses (built 20 years ago or more), there’s a real risk that the sewage system has suffered damage. Over time, shifting in the landscape around your house can alter the way pipes fit together, and roots digging through the soil can create cracks.

Don’t Go In with Your Eyes Closed

We greatly hope that flooding is something you never have to worry about. Unfortunately, flooding due to damaged pipes is a fairly common dilemma for homeowners.

Flooding damage can cost anywhere from $10,000-$50,000 to repair. That’s a huge deal! And not only is it a huge cost, it’s a major ordeal. You may need to leave your home while it’s taken care of, and you can lose precious valuables to water damage. Flooding can drastically change the value of a home.

The condition of the plumbing is an important piece of information for a home buyer to know before they take the plunge. It can also be an important piece of leverage when negotiating price.

Trust Us To Do a Thorough Job

The best way to make sure that you get a good price and a thorough evaluation is by coming to a professional.

When we do an in-line sewer inspection, we send scopes through the pipes, videotaping as we go. We check for damage, buildup, and blockage. Our trained eyes will help you catch possible problems that could crop up in the future. We can give you a quote on the cost of repair and let you know which problems are severe and need to be addressed. At the end of an inspection, you’ll get a videotape of the footage gathered.

So, while you’re planning that big leap, schedule a sewer inspection so that you can rest easy knowing that your house looks as good below ground as it does above.

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