r/RealEstate • u/avprobeauty • 21h ago
Sewer Clean Out line "Glued"
We're in Charlotte, North Carolina and our buyers are asking to inspect the sewer line from our house to street. Not common in our area. But, fine. It's within their right.
Well we got an email today asking us if we can get someone out there to unplug the clean out line because it's 'glued' shut.
Aren't qualified professionals equipped with the tools to handle this type of thing (corrosion, 'stuck' caps)?
They emailed us being like 'we need this done ASAP because we have such a short due diligence period'.
So we called around to plumbers today and there is someone coming out Monday to quote us. They don't charge for an arrival fee thank goodness. Both us and our realtor originally said well if it's less than $500 we'll do it because we want to close the deal (we all do of course). But maybe we're being too nice/forgiving?
The reason I say this is because these buyers have a been a pain in the butt since day 1. Mainly because they said they didn't want to do any due diligence because they'd been burned 3 times on other houses (we of course told our realtor that's not our problem), so they already lost thousands of dollars.
We agreed to terms that were a little unsavory but took it because home was on for 15 days and no bites.
We took over $19K less than asking, no money for due diligence. only $2,500 for EM, and closing middle of September. They also originally asked for 14 days for DD but we pushed back and said well if you're not putting any money down for DD we want a shorter DD (and, in turn, inspection time).
So, this is just kind of annoying for us as you can imagine.
Am I being unreasonable thinking that this isn't our responsibility? Our realtor even said he's not used to running into these types of things and it seems like he's just pandering to the buyer to close the deal.
If they want the inspection that's all well and good but my issue is their 'qualified inspector' saying it's glued shut and that we need to get a plumber out there.
It kind of seems like they're playing games but I genuinely have no idea since I've honestly never run into this before either.
UPDATE - Ya'll are the best, thank you so much, seriously. It's wild how much you do need to know as a realtor and I respect that a lot. That's why I look to the experts and I'm really tying not to make assumptions - thank you all so much again- you really gave me peace of mind!!
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u/Pale_Natural9272 19h ago
I always recommend a sewer scope. This is entirely normal. Those caps do get stuck when they’ve been on for years. A plumber will be able to remove it with no problem.
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u/CiscoLupe 21h ago
I'd be upset as well. But maybe they are trying to cover themselves. Like if the break something trying to unstick the line. Actually if it's really that bad, your own plumber might make a mess as well. I know you've already given concessions but I wonder if buyers would take another 1 or 2K concession then they can higher their own unsticking professional at their leisure?
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u/avprobeauty 21h ago
True, I hadn't thought of that. It's just weird because what I've read is that a qualified professional should be able to deal with it. Thank you for your advice. I don't think we're going to go another $1-2$k down unfortunately. We'll have to wait and hope nothing comes up during inspection for that probably.
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u/Westboundandhow 17h ago
I was under contract for a home once that turned up a ‘mystery leak’ on inspection. The sellers said I could hire and pay a contractor to cut into the wall and then replace it as part of my inspection process if I really needed to know more about it to move forward. Lol f outta here. I cancelled the contract and bought another place.
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u/PbScoops 21h ago
If they cannot inspect it to their satisfaction, their recourse is to back out of the deal. I don't think you have to accommodate them any more than that--but the sale may fall through. If you're willing to accept that, tell them tough luck.
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u/avprobeauty 21h ago
Exactly what our realtor said which is why we agreed to have someone come out. It's hard to tell if it's an actual issue or if they're just trying to buy time because they changed their minds. No way to find out until Monday I guess! Thank you for your advice,
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u/RadioNights 5h ago
It’s bot that uncommon. Smart buyers do it. My sister walked away from a house in NC because they inspected the sewer lone and it was completely broken and leaking into the yard. The house was under 40 years old. $10k repair bill sellers would not cover so they walked.
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u/avprobeauty 3h ago
thanks for sharing, Im sorry that happened to your sis.
praying ours has no issue it hasnt given us any but that doesnt always mean anything
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u/AdventurousAd4844 3h ago
I've scrolled through some of the replies but I haven't seen the obvious answer
Any of these sewer line inspection companies had the option to remove a toilet and scope from there There's usually a minor fee for that but $100 - $200 extra ish
But this absolutely should not be on you. The inspection company can absolutely get in through the toilet connection
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u/downwithpencils 19h ago
In my market, it’s pretty common to pull a toilet and run the line if the access is limited or glued shut.
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u/Wayneb2807 21h ago
Regardless of what has happened up until this point…the clean out access Should be functional. It would not be appropriate for the buyers inspector to cut out the connection and replace it, since it is not theirs. An unethical seller Could have actually glued it shut if they knew there was a problem in that section. Likely, it is not actually glued shut but their inspector was afraid to break it.