Beginning in 2014, the city of Ventura will require every home and commercial property for sale to have a sewer line scope inspection done by a licensed plumber, and ultimately to become certified by the city. If you are thinking about selling your home, take a moment to read this article.

Having relocated from Portland, Oregon where a sewer scope was a standard inspection alongside a home inspection, I’ve viewed hundreds of scopes and negotiated repairs on 80% of failed sewer lines.  Issues can arise from root intrusion, section breaks, pooling water because of bad grade, crushed Orangeburg, issues with the city connection, rusted and worn out cast iron and more. In Portland if there was a tree in the yard, chances were there was going to be a problem.

In Ventura County too, I’ve done quite a few scopes. (It is not a common practice in Ventura County to do scopes during a home sale or purchase.) I’d say less than half have had an issue so while this new rule may raise a few hairs on the neck, I wouldn’t get too freaked out about it. What I do wonder about is that there are so few inspectors who do scopes, they may raise their prices which are already around $250 which is, I feel very high. (In the Portland area scopes are $100 with a color DVD included.) Plus, I worry that sewer repair costs will skyrocket.

I do recommend that a home seller doing a sewer scope to find out ahead of time what issues there may be. This allows the seller to take the time to get estimates and have a negotiation strategy in place. (Up to this point it didn’t matter because buyers didn’t know to do a scope and a seller could take the chance it would not be an issue.)

One other issue I wonder about is how the city will define a sewer line being certifiable. It is possible a sewer line with root intrusion can be dealt with on an annual basis with jetting the line. Will the city allow that? (I’ve been told the answer is no.)

Another looming issue is how a condo association will handle unit sales as the HOA is typically responsible for the sewer lines.

Click here for the full article.

Here’s an article I’ve written on sewer scopes that is a must read also!

Call me if you have questions. As an experienced agent, you need someone on your side with your best interests at heart. Whether you are a buyer or seller, let’s talk!