The sewer line lesson that cost me over $30,000
Early on, I let a home inspector talk me into checking the sewer line too. He offered, it was convenient, and I said yes.
He was a home inspector. He was not a sewer inspector.
The line had problems he didn't catch, and fixing them cost me more than $30,000. And it wasn’t one backup. It happened again and again before we tracked down the real problem and fixed it for good.
Here's the part that stings. At Alpine, we say no to that kind of scope creep all the time. A good crew knows exactly where its expertise ends, and it doesn't take on work outside it just because a customer asked. Then I sat in my own deal and let someone do it to me.
What I do now:
Specialists for specialist work. The sewer gets scoped by someone who scopes sewers. The roof gets looked at by a roofer. HVAC by an HVAC tech.
I ask what someone is trained and licensed to inspect, not what they're willing to look at.
Inspection money is the cheapest money in the deal. A few hundred dollars per specialist is nothing next to what they can find.
I budget for the problem that shows up later, because every building has one.
That lesson taught me more about due diligence than any course I've taken. I'd still rather have learned it for free.
