Sewer scope inspection revealed a cracked pipe underground

[Marc Shin]

I'm under contract on a property and the sewer scope inspection report said "The service was observed for approximately 82 feet, and the termination was not visible or and condition was not determined. This appeared to be near or at the municipal connection in the street. There appeared to be a cracked and collapsed pipe around 35 feet. Offsets, root/soil intrusion and some build-up in the pipe. Recommend consulting with a qualified plumber to maintain the service lateral and repair as necessary."   The seller is telling me "you're finding the usual and customary in a house this age."  and they are pushing back on not repairing the cracked pipe.  Should I push back on them and be adamant that they need to fix this or is this not really an issue?

[James Mc Ree]

It may be common for a home of that age to have a failed sewer lateral, but that doesn't mean you have to accept it. Usual and customary usually refers to outdated but working components, such as old ducts in a house that do not support central air well for lack of returns. That wouldn't be a defect because the house was built before central air existed according to normal and customary designs of the time. The ducts work, they just aren't modern. Your failed sewer is clearly not that.

You discovered a material defect in the property and have an out if you want it. You can take the property with the defect if you have a great deal, but the deal is less great now. You can negotiate with the seller if they are willing. You can walk away. A point of leverage is the seller is now aware of a material defect and must disclose it to future prospects on the seller's disclosure. That will impact any future offer prices.

I bought a townhome with a broken lateral that was a short distance to the main. My seller disagreed with the first scope result and hired 4 more companies to scope it. All reported the same. The seller's basement was dug up, they tunneled under most of the front lawn, the sidewalk, curb and road were partially disturbed. The total cost to the seller was $27,500 in PA 2-3 years ago.

It helped in my case that a U&O certificate required a passing sewer inspection. If that is the case in your town, you will have to fix it if Seller doesn't, so make that a negotiating point since one of you has to fix it.

Interior disturbance is likely from your soil line out to the main. That may cause you some restoration work if it is going through a finished basement. You will want to discuss this with Seller if they are going to fix the lateral.

It would be reasonable for the seller to compromise with you. Seller wasn't offering a property with a new sewer lateral, but you weren't buying one with a failed lateral. You could agree to raise the property price by some percentage of the repair and finance it into your mortgage to avoid taking the financial hit in cash if you are financing the purchase.