Distraught in SW MO (low income, to rent, loan)

[ssf123]

My husband is disabled, and I have a disability case pending. We are living in a small town in SW MO, on a fixed income less than $1,300/month. That was the case when we bought the house we live in, from a bank. The house was bought "as is". The loan officer would disclose nothing. I could explain this poor choice; however, at this point it doesn't matter.
Sewer started backing up in the basement soon after we moved in. We were told by the man we hired that he had been to this house many times and a larger septic tank is needed. We had it cleaned out twice. Finally we had the old septic tank replaced by a new one of the same size because we could not pay for a larger one. That worked for a couple of months. Now I wash clothes in the basement with sewage all over the floor. The sewage ran into other rooms. Black mold exists. We both are constantly sick because we are physically incapable of cleaning up the mess. We cannot afford to hire help.
We are looking for a place to rent because we can't live this way. Was it legal for the loan officer at the bank (the only person we dealt with) to withhold this information?? Is any other assistance available?Thank you.

[christina0001]

You could try contacting your county's health department and asking if they offer any assistance programs, or know of any. But most of these rural areas don't offer that sort of thing.

I'm not a lawyer but as far as I know, you bought the house "as is," and it sounds like you chose to not have an inspection... I don't think anyone is responsible for the situation except you and your husband. It's highly doubtful a loan officer would have much personal knowledge about a house being sold.

[JerryKV]

Hopefully this wont sound too harsh.

First, I would NOT do laundry if it causes sewer to back up! (ESPECIALLY if I knew I couldnt clean it up).
Second, I would install low-flow shower head, toilet, faucets etc.
Third, I would have read up on septic systems and learned that there are two parts, the settling tank, and the drain field. It is the drain field which gets rid of the liquids, the tank just settles out the solids. Installing a new tank will not increase capacity. Unless the tank is damaged, all you can do is pump out the solids.

They key here once you made the mistake of buying a home without the means or ability to operate it, then at the first hint of low capacity to drain the waste water, would be to dramatically lower your water usage to what your drain field can handle, and then replace that when money permits. If that means going to the laundry mat or washing just the essentials by hand in a tub, with minimal soap and dumping the water out the back, I would do that. And flush the toilet only for "solids". Until the capacity can be restored.

I would never repeat behavior that causes sewage to run back into my dwelling. Have you though about applying to a low income, managed housing unit?

[mostlysunny1]

USDA Rural Housing will help.

Economic Development District for your town may help.

Talk to the people over at Salvation Army. Their social workers know every kind of assistance available in your state.

I'm sorry for your suffering. I hope these find you a resolution quickly.

(Unless you are in town with a nosy neighbor close, you can run a garden hose from washer output into the yard. See how this handles it. If you are drinking well water, you need to find no-phosphate laundry soap. Then see how things handle...Your situation counts as emergency as raw sewage will make you sick. In your situation, I would consider a chemical toilet from camping supply or composting toilet which is probably up to code for a while, wash dishes/self in tubs and throw it into yard. It's a little old fashioned but these are good backup in your situation...I would definitely try running garden hose from laundry into yard, dump the septic tank and see how your current system handles the rest. Dishwasher may not be okay either.)

You can also help out your septic system by dumping a package of yeast or yogurt into it every month.