What to do when a sewer scope finds a problem

A sewer scope isn't pass or fail. When it turns up a defect, here's what you can actually ask for, and when walking away beats negotiating at all.

A sewer scope report with a defect on it isn't a failed inspection, it's the start of a negotiation. Once a problem shows up on camera, you have three real options: ask the seller to fix it before closing, ask for money off and handle it yourself, or, for a job too big for either side to fund right now, hold part of the seller's proceeds in escrow until it's done.

Which one makes sense depends on the defect itself, so what the camera actually found is worth reading first if you haven't already. From there: the options actually on the table, the catch in the one people forget about, and when the right move is to walk away instead.

This all assumes the scope that found the problem was on a sewer line. If you're not sure your property is on sewer rather than septic, check that first; a septic inspection turns up different findings with different options attached.

Your three real options

American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) lays out repair and price reduction as the two direct routes, and describes escrow as a third for jobs too large for either side to cover before closing.

Option	What it means	Fits best when
Repair	The seller gets the work done, and you see the result before you own the house.	Verifying the fix matters more than choosing who does it.
Price reduction	You pay less for the house and handle the repair yourself afterward, with complete control over who does the work and when. You still have to fund the repair out of pocket.	You want to pick your own contractor and timeline.
Escrow	Part of the seller's proceeds is held back after closing to fund the repair once it's done.	The job is big enough that neither side can pay for it up front.

"Repair" and "price reduction" are named directly in ASHI's advice. Escrow is described there for large projects like septic systems or roof replacement; applying it to a sewer lateral replacement is our own extension of that example, not something the source itself names.

Source: American Society of Home Inspectors, Tips on Negotiating Repairs After a Home Inspection

What the repair itself runs depends on which type a plumber recommends. Spot repair, trenchless lining and full replacement differ from each other by an order of magnitude, so ask which one is being recommended before you decide what to request instead of assuming a single number covers it.

The catch with escrow

Escrow looks like the easy way to bridge a gap neither side can pay for right now, but ASHI is blunt about the downside: "the downside is it makes financing difficult," and "many lenders will balk on having money for repairs held in escrow."

Its own guidance is narrow: "only use this if neither party has funds to complete the repair before closing." The fallback, in other words, not the first thing you reach for.

Source: American Society of Home Inspectors, Tips on Negotiating Repairs After a Home Inspection

When it's worth walking away instead

Repair and price reduction are negotiations. Walking away isn't one, it's an exit, and deciding which issues justify it comes before you send any request, not after the seller turns you down.

ASHI's advice is to put the issues "serious enough to make you walk away from the house if a seller is not willing to repair or provide concession" at the top of your list, not the bottom.

Source: American Society of Home Inspectors, Tips on Negotiating Repairs After a Home Inspection

A defect earns that spot because of what it is, not just what it costs to fix. What a sewer camera actually finds breaks down which findings are urgent and which are a monitoring item, and that distinction matters more here than any repair estimate does.

Spend your leverage on what actually matters

Don't turn a scope with one minor finding into an excuse to chip away at the price generally. ASHI's own phrase for it: "don't use the home inspection as a reason to renegotiate and nickel and dime the seller." Save the ask for what's genuinely serious: "focus on getting the big-ticket and serious issues rectified."

A few fine roots at a single joint is usually a monitoring item, not a repair. Asking for money off it anyway is a fast way to make the seller dig in on the finding that actually matters.

Source: American Society of Home Inspectors, Tips on Negotiating Repairs After a Home Inspection

How to actually ask for it

Vague requests get vague answers. ASHI's advice: "be specific in your requests, be reasonable and state why the issue is a problem if it is not obvious."

"Fix the sewer line" gives no one anything to act on. "The scope found root intrusion at two joints and a two-inch offset eleven feet from the cleanout; requesting repair or a price reduction before closing" does, both for the seller and for their own inspector if they bring one in.

Source: American Society of Home Inspectors, Tips on Negotiating Repairs After a Home Inspection

What if your contract has its own deadline for this?

It probably does. Purchase contracts set their own window for raising an inspection finding, and their own deadline for acting on it, set by your contract and your state, not by anything on this page. Confirm both with your agent or attorney before that window closes, not after.