Help!

We just bought this adorable 2 br townhouse in Countryside Sterling VA
20165 and there's a leak in the water line right in front of the house
under the ground =(

has anyone else had this problem?

if yes, any advice?

thank you for any help in advance.

sincerely,

n. lueck

"Natalia" wrote in message
ups.com...
Help!

We just bought this adorable 2 br townhouse in Countryside Sterling VA
20165 and there's a leak in the water line right in front of the house
under the ground =(

has anyone else had this problem?

Well, about 10 years ago when we lived in a place with "public water" there
was a VERY hard freeze and the next morning the pipe was broken. The break
was "before the meter" so the water company (actually the county) fixed it.

If the water company/authority will fix it, you are off the hook.

They have an incentive to fix it quickly because they aren't getting paid
for the water.

If it turns out you "own" the pipe you have to dig down to expose the bad
section. If it was just something that happened (an undetected flaw in the
pipe that finanlly failed) you might be able to "fix" it with some kind of
rubber or plasted "patch" hend in place by stainless clamps. "They" sell
"patches" that you can slip around a leak.

If the damage was more serious than can be fixed with a "patch" you may have
to get the water company to turn off the water. If you do the digging, a
plumber might be able to do the job quickly and he will know the "mechanics"
of getting the water turned off and back on.




if yes, any advice?

thank you for any help in advance.

sincerely,

n. lueck

Well, when i bought my second house it had a similar problem years ago.
I was pretty broke at the time so calling out a pro was out of the
question. I dug down and found a leaking iron pipe about 2 ft' on my
side of the meter. The soil was sandy and the digging not that bad. I
cleared out a big enough area around the leak to work, with the main
valve at the meter off, I cut the pipe, and threaded the remaining part
down in the hole. I rented a pipe threader and cut new threads then
went to a hardware store that threaded pipe had a custom nipple made
and put it aback together with a pipe union. If I had the same problem
today, I would use the PVC repair things with the 2 threaded caps, 2
of them and a section of PVC pipe if necessary

Ask the neighbors if previous owner had troubles and did they warn you?

if they had previous troubles and didnt disclose it at time of sale
then its their legal obligation to pay you for the repairs.

say it leaked a year ago and they had it patched and didnt warn
you...........

a neighbor sold their home and didnt disclose sewer line was bad, new
owner had trouble, old owner paid near 10 grand, for new sewer line and
restoration of yard........

" wrote in
oups.com:

Ask the neighbors if previous owner had troubles and did they warn you?

if they had previous troubles and didnt disclose it at time of sale
then its their legal obligation to pay you for the repairs.

say it leaked a year ago and they had it patched and didnt warn
you...........

a neighbor sold their home and didnt disclose sewer line was bad, new
owner had trouble, old owner paid near 10 grand, for new sewer line and
restoration of yard........



If they had trouble, fixed it (to the best of their knowledge), there is
nothing to disclose. It is not required to disclose every repair you ever
made while you owned it.

Of course everything is arguable. If you do a half assed repair but it
makes it function properly then there is no "problem (malfunction or
defect)" as worded in the local disclosures form here. If one were to
argue that this is a defect then the counter argument might be unless you
make any repair the same as when it was brand new then it is a defect.

Even with like termite problems. Look at the question.

10.PROBLEMS WITH PRESENT INFESTATION, OR DAMAGE FROM PAST
INFESTATION OF WOOD DE-STROYING INSECTS OR ORGANISMS which
has not been repaired?

Note "which has not been repaired?

Bottom line is a subjective legal ****ing contest. One clear winner is
always the lawyers.

Al Bundy wrote:
" wrote in
oups.com:

Ask the neighbors if previous owner had troubles and did they warn you?

if they had previous troubles and didnt disclose it at time of sale
then its their legal obligation to pay you for the repairs.

say it leaked a year ago and they had it patched and didnt warn
you...........

a neighbor sold their home and didnt disclose sewer line was bad, new
owner had trouble, old owner paid near 10 grand, for new sewer line and
restoration of yard........



If they had trouble, fixed it (to the best of their knowledge), there is
nothing to disclose. It is not required to disclose every repair you ever
made while you owned it.

Of course everything is arguable. If you do a half assed repair but it
makes it function properly then there is no "problem (malfunction or
defect)" as worded in the local disclosures form here. If one were to
argue that this is a defect then the counter argument might be unless you
make any repair the same as when it was brand new then it is a defect.

Even with like termite problems. Look at the question.

10.PROBLEMS WITH PRESENT INFESTATION, OR DAMAGE FROM PAST
INFESTATION OF WOOD DE-STROYING INSECTS OR ORGANISMS which
has not been repaired?

Note "which has not been repaired?

Bottom line is a subjective legal ****ing contest. One clear winner is
always the lawyers.

old neighbor had sewer snaked and was told terracota pipe had roots, as
probably every home in area has.....

based on this old owner had to pay for new sewer line, since they didnt
have line replaced.

if original owner patched the line, and didnt disclose they are on the
hook foir a new line

" wrote in
oups.com:


Al Bundy wrote:
" wrote in
oups.com:

Ask the neighbors if previous owner had troubles and did they warn
you?

if they had previous troubles and didnt disclose it at time of sale
then its their legal obligation to pay you for the repairs.

say it leaked a year ago and they had it patched and didnt warn
you...........

a neighbor sold their home and didnt disclose sewer line was bad,
new owner had trouble, old owner paid near 10 grand, for new sewer
line and restoration of yard........



If they had trouble, fixed it (to the best of their knowledge), there
is nothing to disclose. It is not required to disclose every repair
you ever made while you owned it.

Of course everything is arguable. If you do a half assed repair but
it makes it function properly then there is no "problem (malfunction
or defect)" as worded in the local disclosures form here. If one were
to argue that this is a defect then the counter argument might be
unless you make any repair the same as when it was brand new then it
is a defect.

Even with like termite problems. Look at the question.

10.PROBLEMS WITH PRESENT INFESTATION, OR DAMAGE FROM PAST
INFESTATION OF WOOD DE-STROYING INSECTS OR ORGANISMS which
has not been repaired?

Note "which has not been repaired?

Bottom line is a subjective legal ****ing contest. One clear winner
is always the lawyers.

old neighbor had sewer snaked and was told terracota pipe had roots,
as probably every home in area has.....

based on this old owner had to pay for new sewer line, since they
didnt have line replaced.

if original owner patched the line, and didnt disclose they are on the
hook foir a new line




Yep. At face value that sounds like hiding/sweeping under the rug. There
was no repair.