Your general home inspection doesn't look inside the sewer line. Most first-time buyers I talk to assume it does. In older parts of San Diego, that pipe is one of the most expensive things you can miss.
Walk any block in North Park, Normal Heights, or Kensington and most of the houses you see were built between the 1920s and the 1950s. A lot of them still have their original clay sewer lateral. That's the pipe running from the house, under the front yard, out to the city main. Clay was laid in short sections. After 70 or 80 years the joints shift, and tree roots find every gap. The big street trees that make Adams Avenue such a nice walk are part of the problem.
In the City of San Diego, the lateral belongs to the property owner. If it cracks, backs up, or collapses, you pay for it, not the city. A spot repair can run a few thousand dollars. Replacing the whole line, or lining it with a trenchless method, can climb past $15,000, and more if the work reaches the street.
A sewer scope runs a few hundred dollars. A technician feeds a camera through the cleanout and records the whole run of the pipe. Two things matter here:
- Get the video, not just the one-paragraph summary. Watch it with the inspector on the phone so they can show you what a root intrusion or an offset joint looks like. - Book it early in your investigation period. The standard California purchase contract gives you 17 days, and you'll want time to get a plumber's repair quote if the camera finds something.
This next part is where I disagree with how some agents handle it. When a seller's disclosure says the line was "recently cleaned" or "hydro-jetted," plenty of people read that as good news. I don't. Clearing roots is maintenance, not a repair. The roots grow back, and a freshly cleaned line can look better on camera than it will a year after you move in. If I see that note on a 1940s bungalow, I want the scope even more.
If the scope does turn up damage, you have options. You can ask for a repair, ask for a credit toward closing, or renegotiate the price. Sellers in these neighborhoods know about clay pipe, and a plumber's written quote gives you a lot to stand on.
When you book your home inspection, ask one question: does this include the sewer line? If the answer is no, book the scope that same day.