Should I fix sewer line issues before selling my house?
Home buyers often demand total replacements or massive repairs for minor pipe inspection findings, making sellers feel pressured to dig up the entire line for trivial amounts of water. This creates high-stakes standoffs that can derail a house sale or leave buyers questioning if they are crazy to take on the property.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Refuse the demand and sell the house as-is to another buyer
- 2Get the depth measured at different points to check the fall of the pipe
- 3Using root killer and hydro jetting the lines periodically until budgeting for repairs
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Am I crazy for buying a house with known sewer issues?”source ↗
“Tell me I'm not crazy for considering purchasing this house.”source ↗
“I guess they expect me to dig it up and put a new line in because there's a millimeter of water in the pipe”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 15Main sewer line backed up right after moving in
- 4Home inspection found plumbing issues but seller says it's fine
- 29Why does my new plumbing still have bad water pressure and risky joints?
- 6Tree roots growing inside drain pipes
- 2How serious is a sewer scope belly under the street?
- 10How to fix laminate floor damage before moving out without losing deposit