'Ticking timebomb': Plumbing disaster threatens Sonja's retirement plan – $27k bill was the last thing she was expecting

In many ways, retiree Sonja had a home almost ready for sale – but there was one major problem and it was a "ticking time bomb".

Her townhouse, built in 1997, was in almost pristine condition, with just some slight updates needed to make top dollar to fund her retirement.

Except for one small plumbing issue, that ended up not being small at all.

Stream episodes of Unsellable Houses for free on 9Now

In an episode of Unsellable Houses – which you can watch for free on 9Now – twins and real estate experts Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb helped Sonja get her home ready for sale.

As they debriefed on the condition of the house, Sonja revealed the homeowner's association knew the complex had dated plastic plumbing that would need to be updated to metal in the future.

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That small concern soon became a massive problem, because as work got underway a pipe snapped and disaster struck.

Water began to pour out of the ensuite bathroom like a fountain, soaking the subfloor of the bedroom and seeping through the ceiling below.

"That is... oh my God," Leslie reacted in complete shock.

This was guaranteed to blow out the renovators' $95,000 budget, as they now had to replace the drywall and completely update the pipes themselves.

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They were right – it would be an additional $27,000 and would take an extra two weeks.

The bright side? Pulling out the bathrooms to replace the plumbing now opened the door for a full renovation of them, rather than the simple refresh originally planned.

In fact, the change was so impressive that Sonja could hardly believe it was the same house.

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The twins also estimated the work had made a huge difference to her potential selling price, taking the value of their home from $592k to $722k – and correctly predicted it would sell for even more.

You can see the full renovation of Sonja's home in Season 5, Episode 11 'Hygge Bad Pipe Dream' of Unsellable Houses on 9Now.

Stream episodes of Unsellable Houses for free on 9Now

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