Expert: Russel Ray - 3/5/2010

Question
QUESTION: We moved in to our newly flipped house about 4 months ago. When we did a final walk through before we closed we noticed that there was no cap on the sewer cleanout on our property. Just an open exposed pipe. 4 months after we move in we get clogging issues where the water isn't passing to the city sewage line. We get a snake and a camera in to the pipe and find a plastic golf ball, a 20 oz bottle of coke, about 33% of the top of a pipe and a brass cap about 3.5 inches around. We were able to remove all of it except the brass cap which is getting caught against the trap and is getting toilet paper and the such built up against it causing the clogs. We no have to spend $2,000 to dig up the area where the trap and the brass cap are and have it replaced with a T.

Can I hold the previous home owner responsible for this since the cap was not on the pipe when we bought the house?

ANSWER: Hey, Robert.

That's going to be a tough one to call. My initial gut reaction is probably not, but I also don't know what State you're in, and there could be something in your State that is more favorable to you.

I would think that a home inspection would have discovered the missing cap, and all of that stuff in the sewer pipe most likely would have caused the sewer to back up at the time of the home inspection since home inspectors like to run a lot of water at the sinks, bathtubs, showers, and toilets just to try to get it to back up.

Also, if you noticed the missing cap at your final walk-through, the proper thing to do would have been to immediately have a plumber check for foreign objects in the pipe, especially on a flipped house or new construction, or to have the escrow company withhold a reasonable amount for 3-6 months to protect against just exactly what has happened.

Since I don't know what State you're in, I'd suggest contacting a real estate attorney and going over your options relative to your State with him/her. Most attorneys will provide you with 30-60 minutes of free consultation.

Good luck.

Russel

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

QUESTION: We are based in New Jersey. We do have it noted in our home inspection that the open pipe should be capped by the seller before closing but it wasn't suggested to have a plumber check for foreign objects.

Is there anything working in my favor if I live in New Jersey?

Answer
Hey, Robert.

I answered this about an hour after your submitted it but it just showed up in my queue again.

New Jersey is one of those states that we call "litigious" so anything is possible there, just like here in California.

Since you're only four months out from buying your house, the first thing to do is to get at least three quotes for the work to be done. Contact the Seller with those three quotes and ask him to pay for the work. Depending on the financial size of your flipper, $2,000 might not be worth the trouble of a small claims lawsuit or an unhappy customer, so he'll pay it. Also let any Realtors involved on both sides know of the problem. In other words, keep everyone informed. In a litigious State, you want to be seen as helpful, agreeable, etc.

Concurrently, use that free initial consultation with a good real estate attorney to explore your options.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Russel