Should You Order a Sewer Scope Before Buying an Older Home in Salt Lake County?

Should you order a sewer scope before buying an older home in Salt Lake County? In most cases, yes. If the home is a few decades old, has mature trees in the yard, or has never had its sewer line replaced, a sewer scope is one of the smallest costs in your due diligence and it looks at one of the most expensive parts of the house to fix.

A standard home inspection does not look inside the sewer line. The inspector runs water, checks that drains empty, and looks at the visible plumbing. The pipe that carries everything from the house out to the city main is underground and out of sight. A sewer scope puts a camera inside that pipe so you can see what you are buying.

Charisse Walker is a real estate agent with Chalker Properties Group in Salt Lake and Davis County, Utah, and a licensed mortgage lender. I recommend a sewer scope on most older homes my buyers write offers on, and I want you to understand why before you decide.

A sewer scope is a video inspection of the sewer lateral. The lateral is the private pipe that runs from your home's plumbing out to the public sewer main, usually under the front yard and sometimes under the driveway or sidewalk.

The inspector feeds a camera on a flexible cable into the line, usually through a cleanout. They record the video and note what they see along the way. You get the recording and a written summary.

The camera is looking for things like:

• Root intrusion. Tree roots find small gaps at pipe joints and grow into them.
• Cracks and breaks. Older pipe can crack with age, ground movement or heavy loads above it.
• Offsets. Two sections of pipe that have shifted so they no longer line up.
• Bellies. A low spot where the pipe has sagged, so waste and water sit instead of flowing.
• Old pipe materials. Clay, cast iron and some older fiber pipe are common in older homes and tend to wear out over time.
• Blockages and buildup. Grease, debris or something that should never have been flushed.

Age of the house is the biggest factor. Salt Lake County has a lot of mid-century and older housing in areas like Sugar House, Murray and Holladay, along with plenty of older homes throughout Salt Lake City. Many of those homes still have their original sewer line unless a past owner replaced it.

A scope is worth a serious look when:

• The home was built decades ago and the seller has no record of a sewer line replacement.
• There are large, mature trees in the front yard near where the line likely runs.
• The basement has a floor drain that smells, gurgles or has backed up.
• The seller disclosure mentions past plumbing or sewer work, or a past backup.
• The home has sat vacant, so nobody has been using the drains day to day.

Newer homes can have sewer problems too, especially if construction debris got into the line. But on a newer home I treat a scope as optional. On an older home I treat it as close to standard.

Schedule it during your due diligence period, right alongside your general inspection. On the Utah Real Estate Purchase Contract, your inspections, evaluations and repair negotiations all have to happen before your Due Diligence Deadline. If you find a problem after that date, your options get much narrower.

Here is the order I recommend:

1. Book the general inspection and the sewer scope the day your offer is accepted. Inspectors book up, and you want results with time to spare.
2. Ask the listing agent where the cleanout is. If there is no easy access point, the inspector may need to go through a toilet or a roof vent, which can change the price and the plan.
3. Watch the video yourself, or have the inspector walk you through it. A written note that says "root intrusion" means more when you can see how much.
4. If something shows up, get a plumber's estimate before your deadline. A sewer scope finds the issue. A licensed plumber tells you what it costs to fix.
5. Decide how to respond before the deadline. Ask for a repair, ask for a credit, renegotiate price, or cancel. Your agent puts it in writing.

For the full picture on the rest of the inspection, read What to Expect During a Home Inspection in Utah.

In most Salt Lake County cities, the homeowner owns and maintains the sewer lateral. In many cases that responsibility runs all the way out to the connection at the public main, which can be in the street. The details vary by city and sewer district, so check with the one that serves the address.

This matters because a repair that involves digging up the street or a sidewalk usually takes more time, more permits and more money than one in the front yard. Once you own the house, that is your bill. Before you own the house, it is a negotiation.

• Assuming the general inspection covered it. It almost never does. Ask your inspector directly what is and is not included.
• Skipping the scope to save a little money. The scope costs a small fraction of what a line replacement can cost.
• Waiting on results until the last day of due diligence. That leaves no time for a plumber's estimate or a real negotiation.
• Reading the summary and skipping the video. "Minor roots" and "roots filling half the pipe" are both called roots.
• Accepting a seller's offer to have the line "cleaned out" as the fix. Clearing roots can help for a while, but it does not repair a cracked or offset pipe. Ask what the plumber recommends long term.
• Forgetting the home warranty fine print. Many warranties limit or exclude sewer lines outside the foundation. Read it before you count on it.

Here is a typical example, not a specific client. A buyer goes under contract on a brick rambler in Murray built several decades ago. The general inspection comes back with normal items for an older home. The sewer scope shows roots at two joints and a section where the pipe has sagged, holding water.

The buyer gets a plumber to watch the video and quote the work before the due diligence deadline. With a written estimate in hand, the buyer's agent asks the seller for a credit toward the repair rather than asking the seller to hire their own contractor. The seller agrees to a credit. The buyer closes, schedules the repair with the plumber they chose, and knows exactly what they paid for.

Without the scope, that same buyer would likely have found out the first time the basement drain backed up, after closing, with no one to negotiate with. For how to frame a request like that, see How to Negotiate Repairs After a Home Inspection in Utah.

On sewer lines, I usually lean toward a credit or a price adjustment instead of a seller repair. A seller who is moving out has every reason to choose the lowest bid. You are the one who has to live with the work, so you want to pick the plumber and approve the method.

That said, every deal is different. If the seller has already had a plumber out and can show a clear scope of work, a warranty on the repair and a permit, a seller repair can work fine. Your lender may also have rules about credits, so check before you ask. The goal is a fix you trust and a price that reflects what the house needs.

Charisse Walker is a real estate agent with Chalker Properties Group in Salt Lake and Davis County, Utah, and a licensed mortgage lender. On any older home, I build the sewer scope into the inspection plan from day one so nobody is scrambling at the deadline.

Is a sewer scope required to buy a home in Utah?
No. It is optional, and the buyer usually pays for it. It is a choice you make during due diligence.

How long does a sewer scope take?
Usually less than an hour on site, depending on access and the length of the line. You get the video and report after.

Can a sewer scope be done in winter?
Yes. The camera runs inside the pipe, so snow on the ground does not usually stop it. Access to the cleanout is the bigger question.

Will a seller in Salt Lake County agree to fix a sewer line?
Often, if the problem is documented with video and a plumber's estimate. A clear, reasonable request gets a better answer than a vague one.

What if the home has had its sewer line replaced already?
Ask for the receipt, the permit and any warranty. A scope can still confirm the new line was installed well.

Build your inspection plan before you write the offer, not after. Know which inspections you want, who you will call, and how many days you need. That way your due diligence deadline works for you.

Charisse Walker is a real estate agent with Chalker Properties Group in Salt Lake and Davis County, Utah, and a licensed mortgage lender. If you are looking at older homes anywhere in Salt Lake County, I will help you plan the inspections, read the results and negotiate what you find. Start with the basics on our buying a home page, or contact Charisse and we will map out your plan together.