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Sewer problems due to city tree

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L

LAgirl

Guest
What is the name of your state? CA

I bought a house in May 2002. There is a big (huge) tree on the sidewalk in front of the house and the roots continue into our front lawn. Apparently the roots have gotten into our sewer system and is clogging up the pipes. We called a plumber who came and worked on it for more than 10 hours total and it's still not fixed. They can't put a camera in the pipe to see what's wrong because the water is still building up in the pipe.

We called the city and they said they would send someone to come check it out.

Is the seller liable for not disclosing this information? (Or is there a time limit on this?) I have the disclosure form in front of me and it doesn't say anything about the sewer. There is a general line that says "buyer advised to do physical inspection by qualified inspector", so does that cover their liability?

According to the neighbors, the previous owner had many plumbing problems because of the tree roots. And the pipe from our house out to the front lawn (to connect with the city's) is not closed. According to the plumbers, this was likely left uncovered because the previous owner needed easy access to the pipes (to unclog, etc).

Lastly, would the city be responsible for any of the costs? The reason why it would cost so much is because the plumber would have to dig through the sidewalk to clear up the whole thing and then re-pave the sidewalk.

Sorry it's such a long post but help!
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
LAgirl said:
What is the name of your state? CA

I bought a house in May 2002. There is a big (huge) tree on the sidewalk in front of the house and the roots continue into our front lawn. Apparently the roots have gotten into our sewer system and is clogging up the pipes. We called a plumber who came and worked on it for more than 10 hours total and it's still not fixed. They can't put a camera in the pipe to see what's wrong because the water is still building up in the pipe.

We called the city and they said they would send someone to come check it out.

Is the seller liable for not disclosing this information? (Or is there a time limit on this?) I have the disclosure form in front of me and it doesn't say anything about the sewer. There is a general line that says "buyer advised to do physical inspection by qualified inspector", so does that cover their liability?

According to the neighbors, the previous owner had many plumbing problems because of the tree roots. And the pipe from our house out to the front lawn (to connect with the city's) is not closed. According to the plumbers, this was likely left uncovered because the previous owner needed easy access to the pipes (to unclog, etc).

Lastly, would the city be responsible for any of the costs? The reason why it would cost so much is because the plumber would have to dig through the sidewalk to clear up the whole thing and then re-pave the sidewalk.

Sorry it's such a long post but help!
**A: and what did your real estate agent say to do?
 
L

LAgirl

Guest
Re: Re: Sewer problems due to city tree

HomeGuru said:
**A: and what did your real estate agent say to do?
What did my real estate agent say about what? We called them last night about the plumbing problems and they haven't gotten back to us on what to do.

I had mentioned that on the disclosure sheet, it said that the buyer was advised to have an inspection done by a professional/qualified (see original post)- prior to closing, we did have an inspector inspect the house but he did not find anything wrong with the plumbing.
 
L

LAgirl

Guest
HomeGuru said:
What does the TDS specifically state with respect to the drain and sewer etc.?
On page 1, under the line "The subject property has the items checked below", there is a check by "public sewer system".

On page 2, under "Are you (seller) aware of any of the following:" it is checked "no" next to "flooding, drainage or grading problems"
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
LAgirl said:
On page 1, under the line "The subject property has the items checked below", there is a check by "public sewer system".

On page 2, under "Are you (seller) aware of any of the following:" it is checked "no" next to "flooding, drainage or grading problems"
**A: so you see, the TDs does not state nothing. Do more reading. And have your real estate agent and your attorney do the reading.
 

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