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House Buying / Searches - SEPA problem....
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Lips
Posts: 78 Forumite
Hi,
I'm in the process of buying a house, but my solicitor has just uncovered a problem resulting from the Property Enquiry Certificate - the house is (apparently) not connected to a mains sewer. The vendor has lived in the property for 50 years and had no awareness of this. She obviously doesn't have a septic tank, or any system that would require any kind of on-going maintenance (as, basically, she hasn't done any in her lifetime), so my question is this :
Where else could the waste be going?
In the meantime, the issue has been passed to SEPA for clarification, but my solicitor isn't able to give me any guidance on how long this will take. To further complicate matters, I believe that SEPA are in the midst of industrial action at present. :rolleyes: As we are supposed to be concluding in two weeks time, I was wondering if anyone could give me any guidance on whether this is likely to be resolved during this timescale?
Anyone have any experience of dealing with SEPA, or any general advice re. expediting?
Cheers,
Lips
I'm in the process of buying a house, but my solicitor has just uncovered a problem resulting from the Property Enquiry Certificate - the house is (apparently) not connected to a mains sewer. The vendor has lived in the property for 50 years and had no awareness of this. She obviously doesn't have a septic tank, or any system that would require any kind of on-going maintenance (as, basically, she hasn't done any in her lifetime), so my question is this :
Where else could the waste be going?
In the meantime, the issue has been passed to SEPA for clarification, but my solicitor isn't able to give me any guidance on how long this will take. To further complicate matters, I believe that SEPA are in the midst of industrial action at present. :rolleyes: As we are supposed to be concluding in two weeks time, I was wondering if anyone could give me any guidance on whether this is likely to be resolved during this timescale?
Anyone have any experience of dealing with SEPA, or any general advice re. expediting?
Cheers,
Lips
0
Comments
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Are you sure the seller hasnt ticked the wrong box in error?
I would ring the council they may know the answer, particularly if this house is on a road of similar properties.I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0 -
Thanks, silvercar. The seller knows nothing about this and is as confused as me. They've been in the house all their lives, and have never had any reason to suspect that there was an issue with the sewage.
The issue has arisen from the searches my solicitor did prior to missives being signed. Unfortunately, the house is fairly remote with no immediate neighbours, so I can't use anyone else as a guide. HOwever, I'm almost certain that this will turn out to be a 'paperwork' issue, rather than a real issue. Or where else could the waste be going???0 -
If there is a good septic tank she may well have been using it for 50 years with no problems. My husband, 2 kids and myself have been in our present house for 24 years and had had ours pumped out twice - and we suspect we didn't need to do it at all really. My husband has a look down the manhole about once a year, and it always seems fine. The treated water goes into a ditch down the sideof our garden and looks clean. Of course, we are careful what chemicals we put down the drains - check loo cleaner for the words 'safe in septic tanks' for instance. It never smells and it's free - no need to pay sewage componant of water bill. However, modern tanks are a different story - thet do need empting regularly, I believe. (Our house was built in 1931) Take a look in what direction the sewage pipes are going and hunt for a drain cover!0
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Does the little old lady realise the crime she is being accused of?
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=859059&page=120
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