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Call the city back and ask again, and give them the December 2014 date. There's a good chance they just didn't look at the most current info. Yes, there are liars and cheats out there, but that would be so fraudulent and set up the sellers for major problems, it's hard to imagine that they would try it and that their agent would go along with it.
Call the city first, and if they still can't find it even with the date information, then call a lawyer. But I'm pretty confident you won't need to.
btw, converting from septic to sewer isn't like flipping a switch or something. It involves digging and trenching and laying in the new pipe, then the existing septic tank has to be pumped out, crushed and backfilled. Depending on the original location, it could involve a huge re-landscaping project as well. So on the chance that the seller did lie about, you are looking at way more than $3700 to correct the issue.
I disagree. Septics can be very, very easy. Pump the tank every two years for $150 and you may never see any issues for 100 years. Sewers have issues too. Things happen.
btw, converting from septic to sewer isn't like flipping a switch or something. It involves digging and trenching and laying in the new pipe, then the existing septic tank has to be pumped out, crushed and backfilled. Depending on the original location, it could involve a huge re-landscaping project as well. So on the chance that the seller did lie about, you are looking at way more than $3700 to correct the issue.
How's your yard looking? If it looks like it's been torn up and re-seeded recently, that might be a clue. Have you asked your new neighbors? The city bringing a sewer line into a neighborhood should be a big deal, and they may know if the sellers coughed up the connection fee or not.
No, the OP bought the house. And now has determined it's too far from work.
And now septic/sewer.
I've had both.........don't ever want to go through another sewer backup as long as I live.
OP I do have to ask.....how does one miss the septic pump out area in the yard?
One can only find a septic pump out area if the septic tank has been pumped out. If it has not ever needed a pump out, then there is no pump out area to find.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SumnerRain
I can't believe you were not told. Here in WA the seller has to show proof that it was pumped and inspected before the buyer can take possession. We also had to sign a disclosure on the short sale we were in contract with, and our inspector pointed out where the system was in the yard, where the pump was, where the on/off switch was, and how far the drain field went out. It was also listed on the seller's disclosure sheet on the purchase & sale agreement with the dates it was last serviced, how often we needed to pump it, if it was pressure or gravity, and if they had ever had any problems or repairs with the system. You may want to go through your paperwork and see if in the disclosures it is misrepresented, if it is, you may have a case. I might also check on your state's septic laws.
In some parts of the country, there is no pump to have an on/off switch, there is no requirement to have the tank pumped or inspected, and even there is no requirement to have the plans for it on file anywhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kodiakbearcountry
That is a pretty big deal but I'm confused as to how a home inspector would miss a septic system? I'm in SC and a lot of homes are on septic systems. If your home inspector pulled the info on the house how could he or she have missed that it was septic vs. city sewer? Is it possible they paid to hook it up but never utilized the service and the city is the one at fault?
We had the option to get on city water two years after moving in to our current home and we opted in. We paid $100 hook up for them to run it up to the home and in our situation had to accept the monthly service regardless if we were going to use our well or the city water. I wonder if they had the option to get the line ran to the home but didn't do the actual hook up portion to avoid the costs and continued with their septic system. In that case they'd have technically been right and it is possible the city is the one dropping the ball here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio Flyer
Also, somewhere along the line, shouldn't the realtor have mentioned getting a septic inspection?
I don't know about everywhere else, but in New England, in addition to the regular inspectors, there are specialized inspectors that only do septic systems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
Call the city back and ask again, and give them the December 2014 date. There's a good chance they just didn't look at the most current info. Yes, there are liars and cheats out there, but that would be so fraudulent and set up the sellers for major problems, it's hard to imagine that they would try it and that their agent would go along with it.
Call the city first, and if they still can't find it even with the date information, then call a lawyer. But I'm pretty confident you won't need to.
btw, converting from septic to sewer isn't like flipping a switch or something. It involves digging and trenching and laying in the new pipe, then the existing septic tank has to be pumped out, crushed and backfilled. Depending on the original location, it could involve a huge re-landscaping project as well. So on the chance that the seller did lie about, you are looking at way more than $3700 to correct the issue.
There's a lot of regional specific information that is being bandied about as though it is universal. One thing I learned early on about septic - it isn't universal, there's a whole lot of variation in systems - and yet, even after reading almost everything i could get my hands on, I learned even more when we bought our current home. Some states have just recently enacted laws governing them. Our home was pre-statute and there is no record that our home even has one! And what's more is that only the toilet is on the septic and everything else simply drained under the house! Until we had our bathroom redone and had all the gray water pipes connected and now run out to the dry creek behind the house.
So, there may be some statutes/regs governing the septic; there may or may not be a pump; there may be a field; and there may be a collar on the top of the tank making it easy to locate and pump out the tank. In fact, there isn't always even a tank.
OP, you have received some good information - contact the town again, giving them the specific date. If it again comes back with no connection, contact the previous owners and ask them for more details concerning the connection: who did it (town or private contractor) and a bill or receipt showing the money paid and to whom.
Start with the idea that the sellers are not trying to cheat you but the town's records are behind and you might just be surprised that that is the case.
One can only find a septic pump out area if the septic tank has been pumped out. If it has not ever needed a pump out, then there is no pump out area to find.
In some parts of the country, there is no pump to have an on/off switch, there is no requirement to have the tank pumped or inspected, and even there is no requirement to have the plans for it on file anywhere.
Well, here in WA, I own a septic system, and I can only imagine what a "septic pump out area" even is. As previously noted, septic tanks here are required to be pumped and inspected when the hosting property is sold. But for my septic system, that involves getting a shovel and unearthing the lids to the septic tank so that the septic tank truck driver can drain the tank using a wide flexible hose. The lids are then replaced and covered with soil.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NY Annie
There's a lot of regional specific information that is being bandied about as though it is universal. One thing I learned early on about septic - it isn't universal, there's a whole lot of variation in systems ... Our home was pre-statute and there is no record that our home even has one!
There is no plan or record of my septic system either! I have a building permit for my property, and that's all that matters in my county.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NY Annie
So, there may be some statutes/regs governing the septic; there may or may not be a pump; there may be a field; and there may be a collar on the top of the tank making it easy to locate and pump out the tank. In fact, there isn't always even a tank.
What I know is that there is a tank with two chambers located near my house. In the second chamber there is a sump pump which pumps sewage 250 feet into a single chamber septic tank which then drains into another single chamber septic tank. I assume that there is a drain field. I discovered as much as I know after an electrician trenched through the sewage line and then after the sump pump in the first tank failed.
OP: Sorry for getting away from your topic, but people are obviously learning something new from it.
It can happen that if you name a few people in a suit, the truth will come out. Not wanting trouble, someone may finally tell you what really happened...even if they were silently complicit. The seller's realtor may tell you the seller told her to be quiet and she felt she had to be; your realtor may no longer be silent and may tell you exactly what the gossip is or has been over the years about that house and even exactly what you can now do about it.
You would want to name the realtors, their brokers, the seller. People and facts may come out of the woodwork and then you can decide to remove them from the suit if you like.
You would want to know that eventually you would contact the local board of realtors, but also a statewide licensing system which can be scarier to bring complaints.
Your home settlement agency...title company, attorney, whatever...do they have ideas? They were not responsible for an inspection they knew nothing about although if septic systems are common I wonder that they didn't ask whether they are missing the septic inspection paperwork (altho again maybe there is no such thing there as in some areas). But they may be familiar as an extension of their services to offer some next step ideas.
That is a pretty big deal but I'm confused as to how a home inspector would miss a septic system? I'm in SC and a lot of homes are on septic systems. If your home inspector pulled the info on the house how could he or she have missed that it was septic vs. city sewer? Is it possible they paid to hook it up but never utilized the service and the city is the one at fault?
We had the option to get on city water two years after moving in to our current home and we opted in. We paid $100 hook up for them to run it up to the home and in our situation had to accept the monthly service regardless if we were going to use our well or the city water. I wonder if they had the option to get the line ran to the home but didn't do the actual hook up portion to avoid the costs and continued with their septic system. In that case they'd have technically been right and it is possible the city is the one dropping the ball here.
What information would you expect the home Inspector to be retrieving and from where?
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