The lateral is your responsibility, and it runs under everything.
Most owners learn where their sewer line ends and the utility's begins only when the camera inspection comes back and the number attached to it does too.
Sell before you digWhere responsibility usually sits
In Louisville and most Kentucky jurisdictions, the property owner is generally responsible for the sewer lateral running from the house to the main. That line is often clay or cast iron in older neighborhoods, and it is decades past its design life.
Root intrusion, bellies, offset joints, and full collapse are the common findings. Because the line runs under the yard, the driveway, or occasionally the house, the excavation is frequently more expensive than the pipe.
Why this kills deals late
Sewer scopes have become a standard part of buyer inspections on older Kentucky housing. A failed scope arrives in the last week of a contract, when the seller has already moved on emotionally and has no leverage.
The buyer asks for a credit equal to the highest bid they can find. The seller refuses. The deal dies, and now the seller has a documented sewer problem to disclose to the next buyer.
Galvanized supply and old drain stacks
The other half of this is interior. Galvanized supply lines corrode closed and produce low pressure and rusty water. Cast iron drain stacks crack. Polybutylene supply lines, used in some construction of that era, have their own failure history.
A whole house repipe is disruptive and expensive. It also does not raise a retail sale price by what it costs. We price the system and buy the house.
Five questions. That is the whole thing.
We already know your situation from this page. Change it if it does not fit.
Question 1 of 5
What people ask about this
Do I need to get a sewer scope before selling to you?
No. If you already have one, send it, because a known scope helps us price accurately instead of assuming the worst.
Who pays for the lateral repair in Louisville?
Generally the property owner for the portion on their side. Confirm with MSD for your specific address, since responsibility lines vary.
The house has no working plumbing at all. Still interested?
Yes. Vacant houses with stripped or frozen plumbing are a normal purchase for us.
Often it is more than one thing at once
Sell before you dig.
No cost, no obligation, and nobody shows up at your door unless you ask them to.