Sewer back up issues

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Feb 6th, 2018 5:17 pm

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Feb 5th, 2018 7:18 pm

mum2two [OP]: Newbie; Jun 4, 2012; 52 posts; 5 upvotes; SCARBOROUGH

Feb 5th, 2018 7:18 pm

Sewer back up issues

Is it advisable to buy a house that has had sewer back up issues? The house is 5 years old. The seller has disclosed that there were sewer back up issues that were due to builders fault. It was fixed by the builder. A couple of other homes on the street also had the same issue due to builders fault. So now the big question is should we even be considering the property?

8 replies

Feb 6th, 2018 12:25 am

mum2two [OP]: Newbie; Jun 4, 2012; 52 posts; 5 upvotes; SCARBOROUGH

Feb 6th, 2018 12:25 am

Bumping so this thread doesn't get lost. Please, any advise will be appreciated.

Feb 6th, 2018 12:26 am

khkchan: Member; Dec 21, 2010; 275 posts; 189 upvotes

Feb 6th, 2018 12:26 am

If it is fixed by builder and no longer happening, why would the seller discloses to you? That means that could happen again and the seller is afraid that you can sue and void the transaction.

What's your appetite for potential sewer backup?

Feb 6th, 2018 7:43 am

NotRobot: Deal Addict; May 9, 2017; 1195 posts; 1277 upvotes

Feb 6th, 2018 7:43 am

mum2two wrote: ↑ Is it advisable to buy a house that has had sewer back up issues? The house is 5 years old. The seller has disclosed that there were sewer back up issues that were due to builders fault. It was fixed by the builder. A couple of other homes on the street also had the same issue due to builders fault. So now the big question is should we even be considering the property?

What was the issue and how was it fixed?

Was it a storm sewer or sanitary sewage issue?

Can you buy insurance to cover you for a sewer back up issue? This happened to us and we had insurance (over 10 years ago).

In our case it wasn't a builder issue, it was a neighbourhood issue that happened after a major rain and the storm sewers weren't big enough for the storm. They have since replaced all the the storm sewers in the area.

How much of a discount over similar houses are you getting?

Is the basement finished?

Feb 6th, 2018 1:37 pm

mum2two [OP]: Newbie; Jun 4, 2012; 52 posts; 5 upvotes; SCARBOROUGH

Feb 6th, 2018 1:37 pm

NotRobot wrote: ↑ What was the issue and how was it fixed?

Was it a storm sewer or sanitary sewage issue?

Can you buy insurance to cover you for a sewer back up issue? This happened to us and we had insurance (over 10 years ago).

In our case it wasn't a builder issue, it was a neighbourhood issue that happened after a major rain and the storm sewers weren't big enough for the storm. They have since replaced all the the storm sewers in the area.

How much of a discount over similar houses are you getting?

Is the basement finished?

Thanks so much for your input. Yes the basement is finished. The rest of the information I will find out.

Feb 6th, 2018 2:42 pm

mum2two [OP]: Newbie; Jun 4, 2012; 52 posts; 5 upvotes; SCARBOROUGH

Feb 6th, 2018 2:42 pm

mum2two wrote: ↑ Thanks so much for your input. Yes the basement is finished. The rest of the information I will find out.

This is what we have been told:

I can confirm that the Water claim that was open on July 19 2015 has been closed as the claim has been finalized.

The cause of loss was determined to be a blockage due to city construction which we have been successful in recovering from the city.

The basement was unfinished at the time this happened and the rest of the house was not affected. The remediation work was completed across the entire basement; however the water did not pass the recreation area by the stairs.
The water level was at the highest about an inch and did not go pass the recreation area by the stairs.

The stairs were not impacted nor the furnace and water heater. We only changed the water heater to a tankless unit to optimize the space when we were finishing the basement.

There was no property damage. The insurance company did not disclose how much it cost to clean.

Feb 6th, 2018 2:49 pm

mum2two [OP]: Newbie; Jun 4, 2012; 52 posts; 5 upvotes; SCARBOROUGH

Feb 6th, 2018 2:49 pm

NotRobot wrote: ↑ What was the issue and how was it fixed?

Was it a storm sewer or sanitary sewage issue?

Can you buy insurance to cover you for a sewer back up issue? This happened to us and we had insurance (over 10 years ago).

In our case it wasn't a builder issue, it was a neighbourhood issue that happened after a major rain and the storm sewers weren't big enough for the storm. They have since replaced all the the storm sewers in the area.

How much of a discount over similar houses are you getting?

Is the basement finished?

This is what we have been told:

"I can confirm that the Water claim that was open on July 19 2015 has been closed as the claim has been finalized.

The cause of loss was determined to be a blockage due to city construction which we have been successful in recovering from the city.

The basement was unfinished at the time this happened and the rest of the house was not affected. The remediation work was completed across the entire basement; however the water did not pass the recreation area by the stairs.
The water level was at the highest about an inch and did not go pass the recreation area by the stairs.

The stairs were not impacted nor the furnace and water heater. We only changed the water heater to a tankless unit to optimize the space when we were finishing the basement.

There was no property damage. The insurance company did not disclose how much it cost to clean."

By the way NO discounts as compared to other similar properties have been offered.

Feb 6th, 2018 3:44 pm

NotRobot: Deal Addict; May 9, 2017; 1195 posts; 1277 upvotes

Feb 6th, 2018 3:44 pm

mum2two wrote: ↑ This is what we have been told:

"I can confirm that the Water claim that was open on July 19 2015 has been closed as the claim has been finalized.

The cause of loss was determined to be a blockage due to city construction which we have been successful in recovering from the city.

The basement was unfinished at the time this happened and the rest of the house was not affected. The remediation work was completed across the entire basement; however the water did not pass the recreation area by the stairs.
The water level was at the highest about an inch and did not go pass the recreation area by the stairs.

The stairs were not impacted nor the furnace and water heater. We only changed the water heater to a tankless unit to optimize the space when we were finishing the basement.

There was no property damage. The insurance company did not disclose how much it cost to clean."

By the way NO discounts as compared to other similar properties have been offered.

Just to be clear - I'm no expert on this type of stuff.

I wonder why they said it was a builder issue at first but now they say it was a city issue.

You could obviously make a below market offer and see if they take it.

You could (should) hire someone to assess the issue (the way you wrote your reply sounds like the basement is finished now so it may be hard to do that).

We sold our last house with a pool in the winter. The buyers asked to their lawyer to hold back some money until they could inspect the pool upon opening (I think it was around $5k) so if there was an issue they could use the money to fix the pool. In this case there was no issue and we got the $5k on inspection . Just an idea but not really sure how something like this would work in your case but you could always try.

Good luck.

+1

Feb 6th, 2018 5:17 pm

mum2two [OP]: Newbie; Jun 4, 2012; 52 posts; 5 upvotes; SCARBOROUGH

Feb 6th, 2018 5:17 pm

Thanks for your input and great advice. Much appreciated.

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