Bids from plumbers are free. Look around for a plumber that can keep the costs down. Maybe digging the trench yourself will make the replacement possible. (Just what you wanted to do with your weekend...)
Avoid foreclosure. For a sewer line? Sell the house, yes. Renting the house to others can be a hassle (like replacing a sewer line) but might be a good idea. Sell it yourself and save money. Use craigslist. Maybe you can find a house swap with someone in Oregon. Seems like there should be options before foreclosure.
Foreclosure seems like an easy out, but it won't be easy or a way out.
Basil, if you want to get rid of the wealthy by spreading around the earnings, it's really not a new idea. It's called communism. Set up residency in Cuba for a few years. You'll be earning about as much as your brain surgeon doctor. Then you'll come back and think that even George W. is brilliant!
As a builder/renovater and the son of a master plumber, tread lightly around the sewer repair crowd. Some of those guys are worse than the shit they fixing.
1) Video
With a shitty sewer line, you should have one company video. I use Hydrophysics (and they have several franchises around town) about 6 times a year and always get really good analysis. Kemper is the guy who I insist do the video and analysis. There is skill in reading the pipe.
2) Repair
NEVER EVER use the same company to video and fix the line. Checks and balances. I use Apex plumbing and they have done 3 sewers for me now and I am very happy because they do great work (tamping the dirt under pipes while they are standing around waiting on parts) AND they are very cheap.
I cringed when my neighbor made this mistake before talking with me and he paid a very well known Denver company about $15,000 for the sewer line replacement and tap into the city sewer line and that is about $8,500 more than I just payed for the same thing.
3) Sewer cleaning. Again, keep all 3 entities seperate. Roman sewer cleaning does good work and price fairly. Until they have to pull out the pressure unit and then it gets ugly.
Christ, Basil, save your political spew for somewhere else. This poor guy is facing financial ruin and all you can do to help is shit on his thread where he is asking for help and advice?
Look in the classifieds. There are tons of foreclosure investors who are willing buy your place, pre foreclosure process.
Even though you might not walk away with any money, you can atleast save your credit.
having done several sewer line installations and repairs, ill throw this out: it might not be as hard as it sounds to do this repair.
usually sewer lines arent buried all that deep, unless they are collecting waste from multiple sources (more sources means deeper lines).
sewer pipes can be easily coupled and capped unless the line is cracked, then it gets more difficult, the whole cracked portion needs to be replaced.
unless its under a solid concrete slab, there isnt anything stopping you from digging it up, except maybe some municipal regs, if your digging on easements, inadvertantly destroying some other utility would be a bad deal and a costly repair. i dont think you need a building permit to do this kind of work since leaking sewage is also against the law, i really doubt anyone would bother you.
have you thought about bankruptcy? - may be a better route than just letting all your equity fly into the wind.
do you have only one note on your home or more than that? if you only have one just letting to go to foreclosure may be option. more than one those in a second position will come after personally, b/c the foreclosure process will push them out.
also there are different kinds of foreclosures - most are done through the public trustees office. typically if a full bid is given you ARE NOT responsible for anything after it's done. most foreclosesures go this route. however, the bank can submit a deficiency bid and then you're on the hook for the difference between the bid amount and the debt owed
there's also something known as a judicial foreclosure, which could potentially put you on the hook for everything, but it's rare for banks to go this route.
i'd go talk to an attorney who has knowledge of real estate and bankruptcy law before you do anything rash.
When my sewer had problems, I had someone video it and locate exactly where the problem was and then dug it up and fixed it myself. Depending on what and where the problems is, it's not to difficult and I saved myself $2000.
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