Today Tacoma Real Estate Agent Anne Jones and I talk about why you should get a sewer inspection when you are buying a house. Whether you’re buying a $120,000 house or a million dollar house, it is important to have an expert take a look at the condition of your side sewer.
A few things we didn’t go into on the video:
- All real estate agents that are representing buyers in the City of Tacoma are required to provide a copy of this pamplet from the city titled, “Before you buy a property… get to know what’s underground.” Make sure your agent provides it to you.
- According to my sewer guy, inspections are not necessary for condo buyers since there is a shared line. Talk to your sewer guy about such matters to confirm.
- I use a guy named Clayton Ashley from Hydro Physics. I like him because he does not make repairs to sewer lines. He only diagnoses problems. I think that this is the professional way to hire an inspector. You wouldn’t hire a home inspector that was a general contractor, would you? Find a guy who has no stake in finding (or exaggerating) problems.
- In the same vein, if you are having a problem with the sewer on the house you own, call an independent inspector like Clayton BEFORE you call one of the big sewer repair companies. They can evaluate the problem and recommend an unbiased course of action to the repair company.
- The City of Tacoma provides low interest sewer repair loans to homeowners who find themselves with a sewer line that needs repairs. You can find out how to get a loan to repair your sewer here.
