Guides · Twin Cities homes
Should I get a sewer line inspection before buying a house in the Twin Cities?
The short answer
Yes — especially on any home built before about 1980. The sewer lateral is the most expensive single pipe you'll own, the standard home inspection doesn't look inside it, and neither does the city's point-of-sale evaluation. A camera inspection before closing shows you the pipe's condition, material, and remaining life, and gives you real leverage if it's failing.
Why the Twin Cities specifically
Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the first-ring suburbs were built out between the 1900s and the 1970s, and most of those homes drain to the street through their original lateral: clay tile in segments with joints every few feet, or — in a stretch of mid-century construction — Orangeburg, a tar-impregnated fiber pipe that deforms with age. Clay lasts, but tree roots find every joint, and the boulevard elms and maples that make these neighborhoods beautiful are exactly what fills those pipes. Orangeburg simply reaches the end. Neither is visible from inside the house, and both are the homeowner's responsibility all the way to the city main — in most cities, including the stretch under the street.
What the inspections you're already getting don't cover
A general home inspector runs water and checks that drains flow. They don't put a camera in the sewer. Minneapolis's and St. Paul's point-of-sale evaluations check safety items in the house; they don't scope the lateral either. So the single most expensive failure a buyer can inherit is the one no standard step looks at. A sewer scope is a separate, inexpensive inspection, done during your contingency period, that closes that gap.
What the footage tells you
- Material — clay, cast iron, Orangeburg, PVC — and roughly what that means for remaining life.
- Roots — how much, at how many joints, and whether they're a maintenance item or a structural one.
- Offsets, cracks, and bellies — sections that have shifted, broken, or sagged to hold standing water.
- Where the trouble is — a locator marks the spot and depth from the surface, which is what turns a vague risk into a specific, quotable repair.
What to do with what you find
A clean line: peace of mind and a baseline. Roots in sound clay: usually a maintenance plan, and a fair thing to note. A failing line: now you negotiate — a price reduction, a seller repair, or a credit — with footage in hand rather than a hunch. We've watched a scope change a purchase decision more than once, in both directions.
Try it yourself, or call?
Worth trying first
- Ask the seller for any past sewer records — cleanings, repairs, a previous scope
- Look at the boulevard trees; big old roots near the line's path are a hint
- Write the scope into your inspection contingency so there's time to act on it
Time to call
- The home was built before about 1980, anywhere in the metro
- There are mature trees between the house and the street
- The seller's disclosure mentions any past backup or root clearing
- You want the footage and a written summary you can hand to your agent
Common questions
Who pays for the sewer inspection?
The buyer, as part of due diligence — it's a small cost against the purchase. If the scope finds a problem, the repair cost usually becomes part of the negotiation.
What if the seller already had it scoped?
Ask for the footage and the date. A scope from this year by a company that will stand behind it is reasonable to rely on. A verbal "it was fine" is not.
Does a new sewer line add to the home's value?
It removes a major liability, which buyers and inspectors notice. A documented, permitted replacement is a genuine selling point in an older neighborhood — keep the paperwork.