$7000 bill got me regretting a purchase in Brisbane!

Ok, background info..

i recently purchased a property in Brisbane which i think, was a decent deal however.. after 3 months of having tenants in there complaining of sewerage in the back lawn coming from under the ground, a plumber has told me there is a crushed pipe 2m under the ground.. and has quoted a MINIMUM of $7000 to fix

heres the part that grinds my gears..

he has had history with this particular property & has been going there for several years for the same problem when it was minor but the previous owner neglected to fix.

When i purchased property, there was no mention of any of these problems & a B&P inspection would not have found out this problem

is there any grounds for me to possibly stand on, or do i wear this one on the chest? im quite angry that it was never suggested

if i do have to wear this on the chest, would you suggest multiple quotes, as i know plumbers can charge what they like. The problem with getting multiple quotes is the expense of them coming and looking (as you need a camera to go under ground to see) which cost a few hundred by itself.

Any insight would be great

 

Pay for the video yourself then make it available to the plumbers quoting the work.

 

All in all, If you pay $7K more for that property without the issue, would that be a bad deal?

In one of my deal, the potential damage was 40K, not $7K. If it was $7k it'll still be a pretty ok deal.

 

This probably won't be deductible as a repair either if it was pre-existing damage. Might be a capital cost.

 

The problem with finding out about expensive problems after purchase is that you may not have the funds to fix them. If they are already fixed when you purchase, you borrow the money as part of your finance.

 

Does the fact you were unaware it was 'pre-existing' count for anything?

 

All in all it just made the experience less than desirable. I'm still confident it's a good deal however it's still $7k unaccounted for

As far as repairs & tax, surely the fact that it MAY have just broke now stands for something?

 

How could you possibly prove whether it was pre-existing or not. Unless you had a video showing the damage prior to purchase. The fact that the plumber had been there previously suggests there may have been some damage prior but doesn't determine the scope of the damage.

I would be claiming repair on that one.

 

Reduced penalties perhaps!

 

I've had several metres of stormwater pipe dug out and relaid before for under $4k in Sydney. Not sure how deep your sewer pipes are, but this would have only been a foot at most.

 

From PBR 24564
https://www.ato.gov.au/rba/content/?ffi=/misc/rba/content/24564.htm

 

I definetely will be trying. The fact that a plumber has went to the property for a blocked toilet etc (that may have been caused by this) definetely won't stop me from claiming a repair on it. It's ludicrous.

 

You just have to factor these things in.

Once found out a sewerage pipe had some serious issues within first week of tenancy. Cost around $10000 to fix. Another time had Body Corporate pay me back $7000 in first month of purchase (body corporate fees are $800 per annum), because it had accumulated too much cash.

 

For that sort of money I would like a detailed quote with the length of pipe which needs replacing and then shop around for a few quotes.
I can't see how it could be shown to be an existing defect though.

 

I'd get other quotes.

 

Any insurance cover this?

 

Mandatory imo!

Some personal examples (I have many):

Commercial property owned by mum: electrician required, three quotes, lowest was $1K, highest was $4k. Lower quote did a fine job.

PPoR: New central heating (vents preexisting) and hot water system required. Rang AGL contractor, quoted by $7.5K...seemed excessive. Another quoted $3.5K...and did a FANTASTIC job.

Rental property: Some trees needed removal. Original quote obtained from Jim's tree removal...musta taken be for a chump quoted $7.2K...didnt ring him back. Two more quotes obtained, $2.4K and $1.8K. Went for cheaper, did a good job.

PS: I just had an UG pipe fixed on PPoR, it was cracked water leaking freely. Pipe was about 1m UG...with about 30cm of concrete and tiles needing to be removed. Cost around $1.2K with reconcreting and retiling.

 

Unfortunately these kinds of plumbing problems do cost a bit. Most of which are labour related. Not materials. The biggest factor will be finding out the length of the pipe that needs replacing. If it's only in one spot, it may not be too bad. If it's several spots where the pipe is broken will need to replace from one to the other break. Also need to keep in mind, being a clay pipe, it is susceptible to future breaks as earth moves/tree roots push etc. So the plumber may not be unreasonable by suggesting that the complete pipe be replaced.
This exact thing happened to my brother in law. Seweage pipe in back yard. He had it replaced from the single toilet in his house all the way to the pit in his backyard. I can't remember how much but I remember he was lost for words with the quote. By the way not suggesting that 7k is acceptable. But it seems like there isn't a cheap solution and you don't really want to 'patch' it up cheaply only for it to break a meter further down.

 

@thatbum might be able to advise on this?

Previous owner was obviously aware, guess it was their PPOR otherwise PM/Agent would have known. Didn't disclose the issue, sold it on like a dodgy used car yard.
Plumber can testify past/existing issue etc

 

I had blocked pipes from tree roots at my place in Brisbane, they replaced about 8-10m of pipe for about 3.3k from memory. Not cheap, but it's not 7. Maybe sewerage ups the cost.