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For those who have bought or are thinking of buying in Las Vegas, it is CRUCIAL that you know the following: What will eventually amount to hundreds of thousands of Las Vegas area homes, built mostly between the mid 1990s and 2006 by various developers, have defective KITEC plumbing fittings that can leak or explode and cause flooding. This is due to the hard water present in the region, which corrodes the Kitec fittings. A class action suit was filed in 2006 and settled in 2009 for $90 million. Claim settlements consist of a free repipe (with varying lengths of warranty) for any home included in the suit found to have the Kitec fittings. However, if you own or are considering buying a rental property, the bad news is that the repipe takes about a week and involves a complete re-routing of the system which requires numerous holes to be cut in the walls. For tenants this can range from an unwelcome inconvenience to a substantial problem; for the owner, there will be an added cost of having to pay for temporary relocation or giving the tenant prorated/free rent for the duration of the work. These costs are NOT reimbursed by the settlement and must come out of pocket from the owner.

In February 2011, I bought a home in LV and the disclosures indicated nothing out of the ordinary. I spent about $5000 for new paint, etc., and secured a tenant in mid-March. Then, two weeks ago (May 3), I received a 'Third Notice' in the mail notifiying me of the Kitec plumbing problem and class action suit, stating that I was nearing the end of the claim period. Being a new owner, I had never even HEARD about this problem before. After a few phone calls I found out that the former owner had been sent the first two notices long before they listed the home for sale, and failed to disclose this to me. Even though this is a major problem affecting many LV area homes, neither my agent or home inspector mentioned the Kitec problem to me either, even in a general way, prior to my purchase.

Given the $5k I just spent for rehab, and the recent move-in of my new tenant, news of the Kitec suit and the prospect of having to go through a complete repipe came at the worst possible time. Fortunately, I'm one of the lucky ones: About 70% of the homes on my street (Highland Hills tract, Summerlin, 89144) do not have Kitec, about 30% do. My inspection today--which involved removing a small portion of wall below the bathroom vanity, confirmed that I DO NOT have the defective Kitec plumbing, and will not need a repipe. Had the inspection revealed that I did have Kitec and would need a repipe, my tenant already made it clear they would fight to break the lease rather than endure the inconvenience, mess, and possible health issues involved with the dust, etc.

So, if you are buying, have bought, or are thinking of buying a home in LV, be sure to ask your agent to perform due diligence to determine if the home is or could be part of the Kitec suit, because the process of identifying and notifying homes with the problem is still ongoing. The attorney representing the homeowners (Harrison, Kemp, Jones & Coulthard) told me that they have just identifed another 100,000 homes with Kitec, and that the first notices are about to go out to the owners of record.

You have been warned!

Related articles:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/mar/23/31000-homes-county-may-need-7000-worth-new-plumbin/

http://lasvegashomeinspections.blogspot.com/2010/10/kitec-fittings.html

http://www.plumbingdefect.com/index.html

Photos of a repipe in progress:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jan/22/piping-begins-homes-involved-kitec-lawsuit/