Warning: Don't fall for the home inspection add-ons

Our inspector offered us a sewer scope for an extra $150. We said no to save money. Three months later our basement flooded with raw sewage. Cost us $4,200 to fix the pipe collapse. Anyone else get burned skipping a cheap add-on test?

3 comments

3 Comments

caleb_bell518d ago

Yeah but honestly a sewer scope isn't really a cheap add-on in the way people think. It's more like a basic part of the inspection that should probably be included upfront. A lot of inspectors split it out to make their base price look lower so people like you think you're saving money. I get why you said no though, $150 feels like a lot when you're already dropping hundreds on the main inspection. But here's the thing, a pipe collapse doesn't happen overnight. A scope would have caught that deterioration way before it failed completely. The real issue is that inspectors should just bundle it in and stop trying to upsell people on stuff that's basically standard practice now.

fionat5518d ago

Had the same exact thing happen with my first house, totally feel your pain lol. Skipped the sewer scope because we were already over budget on closing costs and thought it was just a money grab. Sure enough, within six months we had tree roots growing through the pipe and a $3,800 bill to dig it all up. For our next house we just told the inspector upfront we wanted everything scoped and included it in the final price before we even signed anything. Worked out way better because we negotiated it into the deal so it wasn't an extra surprise cost on inspection day.

skyler_johnson3218d ago

$3,800 sounds about right, I once tried to save $50 on a pipe snake and ended up flooding my own crawlspace.