Party Sewer, anyone?

I was just at an investment property I’m helping a client purchase, where we did a sewer scope.  A sewer scope is one of the customary inspections on property in Portland, as our sewer lines, on average, are around a hundred years old.

This inspection usually costs $100.  It consists of a technician fishing flexible tubing with a camera on the end, through the entirety of the sewer line.  A computer creates a DVD while the line is being scoped.  At this particular property, the sewer line had several bellies in it and roots penetrating it. (When watching the video, a belly appears as the camera being at least partially or totally submerged in water).  Because of these issues, the line was to be failed, which typically means it must be replaced.

After the technician scopes the line, he goes outside to locate the sewer (the camera also has a radio device for locating).  During this customary locate, that’s when everything (dare I say it?) went to crap.

Through the locate, we learned this line crossed onto the neighbor’s property and connected to their sewer line (the dreaded “party-sewer”- the City of Portland no longer allows this).  Additionally, we found there was no sewer main in front of the house.  The merged sewer went into the street, made a hard 90 degree turn and ran down this street to the next intersection, finally connecting with the city main in the perpendicular street.

Once a technician discovers a party sewer, they are obligated to notify the city, and the property without their own sewer must build a new one.  In this case, the inspector had to notify the city of the party sewer and that there was no main on that street.

Once notified, the city  typically  requires every owner on that street to pay to have the sewer main extended.  Additionally, those homeowners also have to pay to have their personal sewer line connected to the new main.  They are only  given 180 days to complete this complicated project.  The projected bill for each individual homeowner?  Upwards of $15,600.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling real estate in Portland, the sewer can become a real mess. (I’m resisting the urge to make puns about poop.  This is a serious issue, people!)

Make sure you have a Realtor who’ll help you sort out all these possible issues before you buy or sell.

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