Septic tank inspection when buying house

J8ck

As part of the house purchasing process, would a surveyor check the septic tank for condition/fullness/drainage?

Also, would you ask the vendors to empty it before the house purchase is complete so you don't inherit the poo and a bill for emptying shortly after moving in?

mbga9pgf

I certainly would. We had to do ours and I didnt think the bill for the house should have included their poo.

It would be worth getting the leech field checked; if they have left it too long, you can end up with uber expensive repair bills. We have a fairly modern version that has high output quality water, which we can outflow to the local watercourse.

DVardysShadow

J8ck wrote: »

... Also, would you ask the vendors to empty it before the house purchase is complete so you don't inherit the poo and a bill for emptying shortly after moving in?

I don't know what the custom and practice is, but rather than asking for it to be cleared, I would be thinking of assessing how full it is and knocking the same proportion of the likely clearance fee off the price of the house. The problem with asking for it to be cleared is that they may not do it and then you have the devil of a job getting the money back from them.

martindow

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I don't know what the custom and practice is, but rather than asking for it to be cleared, I would be thinking of assessing how full it is and knocking the same proportion of the likely clearance fee off the price of the house. The problem with asking for it to be cleared is that they may not do it and then you have the devil of a job getting the money back from them.

I think we are confusing cess pits and septic tanks. Septic tanks are always full and only need emptying every year or two. You will be none the wiser looking in them. Cess pits need frequent emptying and the level will give some idea of how full it is.

Personally I would avoid cess pits, but septic tanks are excellent. As long as you don't overuse bleach there should be no smell and the cost of pumping out will be far less than the drainage element of the water bill which you will be saving.

If it is a concern when you get a survey done mention that you want the septic tank included and hopefully they will send someone knowledgeable out.

G_M

martindow wrote: »

If it is a concern when you get a survey done mention that you want the septic tank included and hopefully they will send someone knowledgeable out.

I would not rely on 'hopefully'. Speak to the surveyor before appointing him and ask specifically if he is able to comment on the condition, and then ask him to do so.

dehydrato

We had a septic tank and when we sold the surveyor employed by our buyers said that it was half full and so we offered to have it emptied which we did the week before completion and we provided the receipt to the lawyer.