I live in Savannah GA and am purchasing a home. The home has Polybutylene plumbing which the seller did not disclose on the disclosure statement we found it in an inspection and the home inspector has noted it on his report. The home was built in 1994 and is covered under the Cox v. Shell suit. To our knowledge the home has had no leaks there is no visible sign of leaks in the home. An A-Plus Report shows the home has no claims history. We will not purchase the property unless the plumbing is replaced with CPVC. We have gotten estimates from three companies who are authorized by the Plumbing Recovery Center to re-plumb homes. I am incensed at the attitude of the real estate agents towards this issue. Both my agent and the sellers agent have stated that there is nothing wrong with polybutylene that we should not be worried about it's leaking. Our home inspector who is from Atlanta can't believe they would say that telling us that in Atlanta agents don't even like to become involved in sales where houses have poly plumbing. I have also looked into the insurance aspects of the poly plumbing. I contacted the Georgia Insurance Commissioners office and was told that the two largest insurer's in the state Farm and Allstate are dropping homes with poly systems and are denying claims for damages created by poly system failures. I was told to contact the two companies did but they would not give me any information. I did speak with agents for both companies who told me that they were not aware of policies being cancelled or coverage being denied. My concern of course knowing how the insurance industry works is that we could obtain coverage but if there were a problem we would be denied claiming losses on our policy. My question to you is this. What do you know about the real estate agents handling of this problem in other areas of the country? My feeling is that in Savannah the agents are aware of the dangers and just covering it up to protect prices because there is so much poly in homes. What do you know about how insurance companies are handling the issue in other states? What I'd like to find is an independent insurance adjuster or insurance consultant who could tell me what the insurance industry is doing on this issue. Any info you have would be helpful.

I had a similar situation happen here in Concord, NC (near Charlotte). I made an offer on a house with PB plumbing and was not aware of the issues associated with the latent failures, class action lawsuit, etc. After the home inspection, the inspector informed me of the type of plumbing and possible realted issues. I talked with him later about it and he said he didnt think it was a problem but he did include it in his report probably for liability reasons. I tried to negotiate with the home owners about the plumbing but they did not want to hear it. They insisted the plumbing was fine and never had a problem with it. The home buying process keeps going and it comes time to get insurance. The insurance agent informs me there was a water damage claim in 2004. Highly upset, I contact my RA and he gets their take on it. They claim it was just an overflowed toilet. The insurance company finally gets the claim and it reads that a pipe burst inside the wall, was repaired, etc. After they lied to me I told them replace the plumbing/negotiate the price or I walk. They didnt want to hear it so I backed out. Long story short, I have a hearing May 22 to determine who gets the deposit money ($500)
Good Luck, I would run and run far from a house with polybutylene plumbing