Public Sewer : Should we buy? (2025)

AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite

13 December 2016 at 10:01AM

Whats the vendor going to do if you dont exchange before Xmas? They arent going to magic up another buyer and get to exchange in the next two weeks are they?

Take your time, work out what the liabilities are and exchange when you are happy with the house. If thats after xmas, well tough luck. And does it matter? It might not even change the completion date anyway ?

And if they take umbrage and cancel, well maybe you are better off without this, perhaps its part of them hustling you along so you dont get things properly checked out.

marksoton Posts: 17,516 Forumite

13 December 2016 at 10:03AM

Get the survey done.

Which water company is it?

paddy's_mum Posts: 3,977 Forumite

13 December 2016 at 10:27AM

I bought this property in 2008. It has the town's main sewer running across the end of the (small) garden. Nothing and nobody has needed to touch it via my ground in that time and I remember it's there only when a comment like yours comes along.

Unless the sewer is actually directly beneath the house, it wouldn't bother me though it may have an effect if you planned to build an extension to the property in the future.

13 December 2016 at 10:43AM

"Public sewer" has a different meaning these days than it used to. Since 2011 any sewer pipe that serves more than one property is classed as a public sewer, even the smaller pipes than run along the back of a row of houses before heading off to the main large-bore sewer.

As the law only changed in 2011 there are 1000s of homes which have built over what was once a private sewer but is now a public sewer.

Has the house you are buying had an extension built over the sewer since 2011? If so it should have had build-over agreement, if not I don't believe you are required to get one upon purchase (only if you wanted to further extend).

But for your peace of mind, and considering a previous sale fell through at search stage, it sounds like it's worth getting the check done. It should only take a couple of weeks but if your vendor wants to risk the chain as a result that's up to them... don't be bullied out of making the checks you need.

AngusClan Posts: 3 Newbie

13 December 2016 at 12:30PM

Yes the vendor can't really 'replace' us before xmas. But he is a property developer and not exchanging before Christmas will mean he looses out on buying a property - i believe he is waiting on the funds from this sale to buy. So if we dont exchange he can just relist the house and resell it at his liesure.

Yes the property has been extended since 2011 but, i believe, no build over contract was required (under certain circumstances you can self certify build overs).

The pipe actually runs under the house as well as the garden.

Our main concern is the back garden did have a load of trees in it. He has removed them and returfed the back garden. Has the removal of trees (and roots) damaged the drain.

Either way we have booked a private survey of the drain (video camera) at our cost for the weekend and the vendor has agreed to wait. So i guess we csn make a more informed decision then...

marksoton Posts: 17,516 Forumite

13 December 2016 at 12:35PM

AngusClan wrote: »

Yes the vendor can't really 'replace' us before xmas. But he is a property developer and not exchanging before Christmas will mean he looses out on buying a property - i believe he is waiting on the funds from this sale to buy. So if we dont exchange he can just relist the house and resell it at his liesure.

Yes the property has been extended since 2011 but, i believe, no build over contract was required (under certain circumstances you can self certify build overs).

The pipe actually runs under the house as well as the garden.

Our main concern is the back garden did have a load of trees in it. He has removed them and returfed the back garden. Has the removal of trees (and roots) damaged the drain.

Either way we have booked a private survey of the drain (video camera) at our cost for the weekend and the vendor has agreed to wait. So i guess we csn make a more informed decision then...

Very unlikely.

Root damage shouldn't be your main concern. The fact the pipe is under a structure should be.

13 December 2016 at 3:48PM

Do you know whether the sewer runs under the original house, or the extension built since 2011??

Good that the seller says they'll wait. Hope they can get out and do it quickly. Never know you might still be able to exchange before Christmas, it's only 13th so if everything else is in place ...

BTW it is certainly not a reason not to buy. The survey is just hopefully going to confirm the pipe work is all in good order

AngusClan Posts: 3 Newbie

17 December 2016 at 10:58PM

Ok so good news and bad.

I visited the property todsy with a proper drsin surveyor. He confirmed that there was no public sewer under the property. Well if there is it is running deep underground and there are no access points to it on the property.

so thats good.

But he struck a problem with one private drain on the property. The drain runs under the front drive to the garage where it banks left and goes under the house. This is where the problem lies. This stretch of drain from the garage under the house (specificslly the new extension) is a pipe made out of pitch fibre.

A pitch fibre pipe that has compressed so much a camera cannot go to the end of the drain. So the man has recommended a clean (the drain shows builder materisls in it that need clearing out) and a full inspection to ascertsin the exact nature of the compression : 50% or below can be fixed by running a gizmo down the pipe and rebuilding its shape with resin. More than 50% then excavation, which is costly.

The issue is whether the compression has taken place gradually over time since the property was built in the 60s or quickly as the more recent extension wsd put up over it.

The drain only serves the kitchen, not the loo. But the kichen is the centrsl point of the house. If it had to be ripped out to get at the pipe it would be costly and major.

So the question now is Pitch Fibre Drain : do we buy?

Any ideas/info anyone can share about this type of drainpipe in their property would be greatly appreciated. I dont know what to do...

Shakin_Steve Posts: 2,783 Forumite

18 December 2016 at 6:22AM

My tuppence worth: Despite all the hassle you are getting to move quickly, something like this needs investigating thoroughly. Imagine moving in to your new house and then finding out that your kitchen has to be excavated, it would be a nightmare and you'd be cursing yourself for being pushed into moving. By this stage, you should have buildings insurance ready to go, would that be invalid if you fail to mention a material fact?
Have you told the seller about this latest survey? Surely he understands that, whenever he sells, this will come to light again?
When buying a house that you really want, and after waiting nearly a year, and not wanting to let people down, you will want to push on and hope that things will turn out right. But they might not, and as I said earlier, you will regret it.
So...you explain to the vendor that, pending a clean out of the drain (which he should pay for) and a further inspection, you cannot, in all conscience, go ahead. If the drain needs work, you should get some idea from the people doing the work(which, again, the vendor should pay for), how stable it's likely to be in the future.
I can't say whether I would proceed or walk away, but you must balance the risk of staying put for a while and !!!!ing a few people off, or going ahead and it costing you a lot of money and heartache.

People on here can only advise on the facts you have given, but we are not you, and only you have the gut feelings about the situation.

Good luck.

Shakin_Steve Posts: 2,783 Forumite

18 December 2016 at 8:29AM

Have a read of this:
http://www.draindomain.com/pitch%20fibre.html