Expert: liznarr - 4/11/2009

Question
QUESTION: My husband and I purchased this home from my mother's estate. I have all the original paperwork when she purchased the home.  Our neighbor informed us that we could not install a pool due to the fact that a main sewer line runs directly beneath our home.  The city engineering dept keep giving me the run around when questioned. There is a manhole in the easement of the front yard.  When sewer workers were present yesterday for service I asked where the lines ran.  I was informed it went 50' to the right of my home (to service my neighbor) and directly UNDER my home to service the 2 side streets.  It was never disclosed on ANY paperwork.  Do we have a recourse?  This house was built in 1964 so the sewer system is at a minimum 45 years old.

ANSWER: Hi Rosemary,

Sorry to hear you have found out the home you purchased from your Mother’s estate was built over a sewer line.  

A former listing of mine (also an older home) that sold many years ago had the same problem, but the facts were never known or disclosed during the time I was involved.  The issue manifested upon a subsequent sale, and I was contacted for any information I might have had, which was none.

We wonder how things like this can happen, but they occasionally do.  When you purchase property from an estate, there are generally no disclosures required because the Personal Representative of an estate generally has no knowledge of the home, much like foreclosure sales when lenders sell them.

My guess is that when this structure was originally built, no one bothered to check to see if there was a sewer easement that could not be built over.

As to your question of, if you have any recourse, I cannot give legal advice since I am not separately licensed as an attorney.  Your question should be directed to a local attorney in the area who either knows the law on this topic or can research it for you.

I believe before sewer lines are run, a survey is required.  I would, therefore, think that the city engineering department should be able to tell you the exact location and layout of this sewer line; but my suggestion would be to speak with an attorney before you probe this further.  

As I’m sure you are aware, an additional problem you have now is that since you are aware of the problem, YOU will have to disclose it to any potential purchaser should you ever sell the home.  Otherwise, you would be setting yourself up for a lawsuit.

Good luck to you, and feel free to write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: In my mother's original purchase contract there is no mention to HER about a sewer line either. She purchased it directly from the original owner/builder.  Perhaps this may be why the engineering dept told me the "surveys are lost"??? The original owner/builder is now deceased. Is the title company not responsible for this oversight?

Answer
Hi Rosemary,

When your Mother originally purchased, the owner/builder may not have realized the house was built over a sewer line and did not know in order to be able to disclose it.  This is sometimes how these problems begin and carry forward until they are discovered.  Even if the builder did know; now that he is deceased, it could be very hard to prove.

Since the neighbor knew and told you about it, I would ask more questions of this neighbor:  How he/she found out about it; how long ago he found out; does he know of any other homes in the area built over the sewer lines.  

Without having read your title policy, I would not know if the title company insured over this defect or not.  Read your policy carefully and see if you are able to determine if you have coverage for this, or call your title company directly.  Hopefully, you purchased an owner’s title policy at the time of your purchase.  Again, this, too, is an attorney question.

You could hire an abstractor on your own to research the problem of the “lost” surveys.  You can also call some of the surveyors in your area who have been in business for a long time and ask if they know which surveyor might have done work for the City prior to construction of your Mother’s home.  If you can find out which surveyor did the engineering, the original survey could possibly still be around in some old files somewhere.

If you have a copy of the original survey on your Mother’s property, contacting the surveyor who did hers would be a good place to begin.

You have your work cut out for you.  Hopefully, you will be able to get to the bottom of this problem.  Good luck to you, and feel free to write again with any additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth