========================= Tuesday May 20th - "Is this Problem the Sellers? Question: I closed on the purchase of a house and a few days later we had to vacate the house because the bathroom toilets, shower and tub were overfilling with water. The only dry rooms left in the house were the kitchen and utility room. It was discovered by a plumber that the main sewage line had collapsed and was filled with roots. The damage to the sewage line is approximately 25 feet from the house foundation. Are there any measures that I can take with the real estate agent and seller with whom I bought the house from? The house was not bought "as is." Answer: There are some things which are the responsibility of the seller -- and some which are not. The question which you need to ask is whether or not the seller knew about the condition of the pipe at the time the property was made available for sale. If yes, then the seller would have an obligation to disclose the problem. However, how likely is it that a homeowner would know about problems with a buried sewer pipe outside the home? Were there leaks? Depressions in the ground? Back-ups? Speak with the neighbors and ask if they remember any plumbers at the property recently. As well, is this even a homeowner repair? Given the distance to the house, by any chance is this pipe the responsibility of the water company?

Published: May 20, 2008

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.