Poly-B and Your Buyer: A Guide for Calgary Buyer's Agents

Your buyer loves the house. It was built in 1994, and partway through a short condition period the inspection report comes back with one line that changes the conversation: polybutylene supply piping. What happens over the next couple of days decides whether your buyer is protected or firms up on a guess.

This guide is for the agent on the buyer's side. It covers what to set up before you write the offer, a step-by-step plan for the condition period, what each insurance answer means, and how to negotiate from a real number.

The short version

• For homes built from 1978 to 1998, assume Poly-B until the inspection says otherwise.

• Leave room in the condition period for three things: the inspection, an insurance answer and a replacement quote.

• The day Poly-B is flagged, your buyer calls their insurer and you book a quote. Both, the same day.

• Negotiate from a written quote, not a number from the internet.

• The cleanest fix is often after possession and before move-in.

Before you write the offer

Check the build year. If it falls between 1978 and 1998, tell your buyer up front that Poly-B is likely and that it is fixable. A buyer who hears about it before the inspection treats it as a line item. A buyer who first reads it in the report treats it as a red flag.

Then make sure the condition period has room for three answers, not one:

• The home inspection

• An insurance answer from the buyer's insurer or broker

• A written replacement quote, if Poly-B turns up

It also helps to have your buyer give their insurance broker a heads-up before the offer goes in, so the call is quick when the report lands.

If you can look at the showing, check the water heater and under the sinks for dull grey pipe stamped PB2110. Our identification guide has more detail.

The condition period, step by step

The day of the inspection

• Confirm it is Poly-B. Ask the inspector for photos of the pipe and the PB2110 stamp, and where in the house it was found.

• Note whether any of it has already been replaced. Partial repipes are common, and they matter to insurers.

The same day

• Your buyer calls their insurer or broker with the address and asks three questions: Will you insure this house? On what terms, and at what premium? Is there a deadline to replace the Poly-B? Get the answers in writing if possible.

• You book a free Poly-B assessment and tell us the condition deadline. Arrange access through the listing agent.

Before conditions come off

• The written quote is in hand.

• The insurance terms are known.

• Your buyer has decided how to handle it, using the options below.

What the insurance answer means

Insurer's answer	What it means for your buyer	Your next move
Insures as normal	Poly-B is a future cost, not a financing problem	Negotiate on the quote, or plan to replace it on their own schedule
Higher premium or limited water damage coverage	Owning the house costs more until the pipe is replaced	Factor the quote and the extra premium into the price
Insures with a deadline to replace	Replacement is now a required cost, on a clock	Negotiate on the quote and book the work for right after possession
Declines	No insurance means no mortgage funding	Have the broker shop other insurers. If none will write it, the deal cannot firm as written.

Insurers' rules vary from company to company and change over time, so treat the written answer for this house as the only one that counts.

Negotiating from a real number

Without a written quote, your buyer is asking for a number they found online, and the listing agent will push back. A written quote from a licensed plumber for that specific house is much harder to argue with. Most whole-home replacements in Calgary land between $8,000 and $15,000, and the cost guide explains what moves it.

Your buyer's options:

• Price reduction or credit. Ask the lender how a credit is handled before you write it in.

• Seller replaces it before possession. Workable, but your buyer does not choose the contractor or see the work. Ask for the permit, the passed inspection and the replacement documentation, and confirm the scope was the whole house.

• Buy as is and replace after possession. Often the best outcome for the buyer. They control the work, and an empty house is faster and cleaner to repipe.

Use the possession window

If your buyer gets the keys before they move in, even by a few days, that gap is the best time to repipe. Nobody is living around the work, there is no furniture in the way, and the patching and paint are done before the boxes arrive. The window is short, so book as soon as conditions are removed.

Condos and townhouses

For a unit in a building from that era, ask the condo corporation, and check the documents:

• Does the building have Poly-B, and has any of it been replaced?

• Is there a replacement plan or an expected special assessment? The reserve fund study and recent board minutes usually say.

• Under the bylaws, is in-suite piping the unit owner's responsibility or the corporation's?

The answers can change what the unit really costs, and your buyer's insurer may ask the same questions.

Do not stop at the supply pipe

Older homes often have older sewer lines too. A camera inspection of the line from the house to the property line is worth considering during conditions, especially on lots with mature trees.

Something to send your buyer

Two of our posts are written for buyers and easy to forward: Poly-B and home insurance in Calgary and how to tell if a home has Poly-B.

How we work with buyer's agents

• A free Poly-B assessment and a written quote for that house.

• Realtor requests move ahead of the queue. Tell us the condition deadline when you book.

• Pipes, drywall and paint by one crew, so a repipe after possession is one booking.

• Documentation for your buyer's insurer when the work is done.

Here is how we work with realtors.

Common questions

Can my buyer get a mortgage on a home with Poly-B?

The lender needs the home insured, so it comes down to the insurance answer. Sort it out with the broker and lender during conditions.

Should my buyer walk away?

Usually not. It is a known problem with a known fix. The real risk is firming up before you know the cost and the insurance terms.

The seller says it was already replaced. What do we ask for?

The permit, the passed inspection and the written documentation of what was replaced. Then check the water heater and under the sinks for any grey pipe left behind.

How quickly can we get a quote?

Book as soon as Poly-B is flagged and give us the condition deadline. Realtor requests move ahead of the queue.