Do Charlotte home buyers need a sewer camera inspection?

By the Alpha Drain teamPublished November 14, 20267 min read

The sewer line is the one part of a house you cannot see at a showing, and the owner pays when it fails. Charlotte Water maintains the mains under public streets. As a rule of thumb, it says the homeowner's responsibility for the sewer line starts at the street right-of-way, with some exceptions. Everything on the house side is yours from the day you close.

What does a standard home inspection skip?

A licensed North Carolina home inspector works to the state's Standards of Practice. Those rules call for inspecting systems that are readily visible and readily accessible. For plumbing, that means the interior drain, waste and vent piping, leaks, and what the rules call functional drainage. In plain terms, the inspector runs the fixtures and checks that water goes down.

The same standards say an inspector is not required to report on underground items. The sewer line between the house and the street is underground. So a house can pass its home inspection with drains that flow on the day and a buried pipe that is cracked, full of roots or partly collapsed. This is no criticism of home inspectors. It is the scope of the job.

Which Charlotte homes are most at risk?

Look at two things, age and trees. The pipe in the ground usually follows the era the house was built in, although past repairs mean the only way to be sure is to look.

Those date ranges come from a city utility's published guide to sewer pipe materials, not from Charlotte records, so treat them as a general guide.

Then look up. Tree canopy covered an estimated 47.3 percent of Charlotte in 2022, and many of the largest trees in neighborhoods like Myers Park and Dilworth were planted between 1895 and 1920. Roots follow moisture to the smallest gap in a pipe joint. A big oak between the house and the street, over an old clay line, is the classic setup for root intrusion.

A camera inspection is worth adding if any of these apply:

• The house is more than about 40 years old
• Large trees stand between the house and the street
• The disclosure or the listing mentions past backups or sewer work
• Drains gurgle or run slowly during the showing or the home inspection
• There is a sunken or unusually green strip of lawn in a line toward the street
• The house has been vacant, so the drains have not been under daily use

What does a sewer camera inspection find?

A plumber feeds a waterproof camera on a flexible cable through the line, usually from an outside cleanout, and watches the picture live. You can watch too. A typical sewer camera inspection identifies:

• The pipe material, and where it changes from one material to another
• Roots entering at joints
• Cracks, breaks and collapsed sections
• Offset joints, where one section of pipe has shifted against the next
• Bellies, which are low spots where the pipe has sagged and holds water
• Grease, scale and debris
• How far along the line each problem sits

Ask for the video file and a short written summary with distances. If the line is too blocked for the camera to pass, it may need drain cleaning or hydro jetting first, and that fact alone tells you something about the line. For a wider look at the house, a plumbing inspection adds the supply piping, the water heater and the fixtures.

When should you schedule it during due diligence?

Early. North Carolina's standard Offer to Purchase gives the buyer a due diligence period, negotiated with the seller, to investigate the property. According to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, a buyer can terminate during that period for any reason or no reason. After it ends, that right is gone and the earnest money is at stake.

Book the camera inspection for the same week as the home inspection, not after it. If the camera finds a problem, you will want time to get a repair price, and maybe a second opinion, before the deadline. Alpha Drain offers same-day appointments when the calendar allows, and most visits are scheduled within 24 to 48 hours. Tell us your due diligence date when you call.

How do you use the findings to negotiate?

The Real Estate Commission spells out the ground rules. A buyer may ask the seller for any repairs. The seller is not obligated to agree to any of them. If the two cannot agree, the buyer can terminate during due diligence or go ahead without the repairs. Within those rules, a camera report usually lands in one of four places.

1. A clean result. Nothing to negotiate. Keep the video with your house records as a baseline.
2. Maintenance items. Light roots or buildup in a pipe that is otherwise sound. Ask for the line to be cleaned before closing, or plan to do it yourself.
3. A defined defect. A broken section, a bad offset or heavy roots at one spot. Get a written repair price and ask the seller to make the repair, lower the price or give a credit.
4. A failing line. Damage along the length, or Orangeburg pipe that has lost its shape. That means replacement, and the number is large enough to change the deal. Get a firm quote before the deadline.

Three practical notes. Share the video along with the summary, because footage is hard to argue with. If the seller agrees to make a repair, the Commission says the buyer has the right to verify it was completed, and a second camera pass is how you do that for a buried pipe. And leave the contract side to your agent or attorney. A plumber can tell you what is wrong and what it costs to fix.

Alpha Drain inspects sewer lines for buyers and real estate agents across Charlotte. If the line is sound, we tell you so. If it needs work, you get a price for the sewer line repair that you can take to the table. Call (980) 408-1705.

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Written by the Alpha Drain team in Charlotte, NC. Alpha Drain is a licensed and insured plumbing company run by Spyro Vassiliou, a plumber with 15 years of experience. This article is general information, not a substitute for an on-site diagnosis.