House Purchase - Septic Tank Problems!

I_have_spoken

The in-laws purchased this property for us to live in rent free whilst we save a deposit

Are you purchasing the property from in-laws as a 100% cash buy or are you getting a mortgage?

If the later, I'd have expected the lender to want to get a full picture of liabilities that would affect the house value, hence the questions.

Obviously the last thing you want is some numpty jobsworth from the COuncil/Environment Agency etc. getting wind of the sceptic tanks and start sniffing about the discharge pipe.

leccyblue

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Are you purchasing the property from in-laws as a 100% cash buy or are you getting a mortgage?

If the later, I'd have expected the lender to want to get a full picture of liabilities that would affect the house value, hence the questions.

Obviously the last thing you want is some numpty jobsworth from the COuncil/Environment Agency etc. getting wind of the sceptic tanks and start sniffing about the discharge pipe.

No, there is a mortgage involved. There is no way for us to get a permit from the Environment Agency due to the close proximity of a public sewer. So we have to connect up, that is the only option. We just have to wait now to see what the lender say. Our conveyancer is hopeful that they will let the sale go ahead without the permit being in place, and we have agreed to sign something to say we will connect to the public sewer within an appropriate timescale once the sale has completed.

Fingers crossed.

G_M

If there is no mortgage involved(and thus no lender to satisfy), and this is a family sale (and in particular, a generous family whohave let youlive rent free for years) I don't see the problem.

Each of you instruct your respective solicitors to ignore this issue.

You buy the house, and then deal with the problem (I'm amazed you'velived there for 4years without considering the tank anyway!) either by

* connecting to mains
* converting to digester
* getting approvals or
* doing nothing

I share a tank with my neighbour. I'm pretty sure he does not have approval (the tank has been there for decades) and until one of us sells I doubt we will do anything.

leccyblue

G_M - there is a mortgage involved (see my post above) - that's the problem. We are waiting to hear from the lender (First Direct) now to see if they will let the sale go ahead without a permit. If they do, we'll complete and then resolve later. If they don't we'll need to connect up to the mains beforehand. Which will cost a fortune as the pipes need to run to the front garden - there's two routes, one under a full length concrete path, and one under the tarmac driveway.

I hope they will be OK about it, they will have 28% equity in the property.

I wouldn't say we've never considered the system! Clearly we've been using it daily and have it emptied. We just didn't realise a permit was required for it. We weren't advised by the conveyencer when the in-laws bought, as the water/drainage search incorrect listed the property as being connected to the public sewer. Sadly, the EA won't give a permit now for the discharge due to the existence of a public sewer within 30m of the property.

G_M

leccyblue wrote: »

G_M - there is a mortgage involved (see my post above) - that's the problem. We are waiting to hear from the lender (First Direct) now to see if they will let the sale go ahead without a permit. If they do, we'll complete and then resolve later. If they don't we'll need to connect up to the mains beforehand. Which will cost a fortune as the pipes need to run to the front garden - there's two routes, one under a full length concrete path, and one under the tarmac driveway.

I hope they will be OK about it, they will have 28% equity in the property.

I wouldn't say we've never considered the system! Clearly we've been using it daily and have it emptied. We just didn't realise a permit was required for it. We weren't advised by the conveyencer when the in-laws bought, as the water/drainage search incorrect listed the property as being connected to the public sewer. Sadly, the EA won't give a permit now for the discharge due to the existence of a public sewer within 30m of the property.

Sorry. Mis-read! :whistle:

In that case it is in the hand sof the lender.

leccyblue

Just an update on this for those that replied - and any who stumble across this in a similar situation.

The lender referred to the Surveyor - who reduced the value of the property by £2,500. Fortunately for us, this makes no difference as the revised valuation is still more than the purchase price - so the lender is allowing the sale to complete without any restrictions in place! This is the best possible outcome for us, and will allow us to get connected to the public sewer at our convenience during 2014.

Thanks to all who replied!

freeisgood

We have a septic tank, it is sealed and we get it emptied once a year. Woud it not be cheaper to seal the outlet, create a man hole, and just pay for it to be emptied regularly?


Sorry just noticed the post above. Still...may be useful.

martindow

freeisgood wrote: »

We have a septic tank, it is sealed and we get it emptied once a year. Woud it not be cheaper to seal the outlet, create a man hole, and just pay for it to be emptied regularly?


Sorry just noticed the post above. Still...may be useful.

A cess pit created by blocking the outflow of a septic tank could fill quickly unless it is large needing emptying several times a year. A lot of septic tanks are quite small.

leccyblue

freeisgood wrote: »

We have a septic tank, it is sealed and we get it emptied once a year. Woud it not be cheaper to seal the outlet, create a man hole, and just pay for it to be emptied regularly?


Sorry just noticed the post above. Still...may be useful.

Are you sure it is completely sealed? That would make it a cess pit, not a septic tank. These normally need to be emptied every 5 to 6 weeks! You'd need an absolutely huge tank to last you a year!

We will most likely connect to the mains sewer...the septic tank is 32 years old and it's only a matter of time before it needs some major work. The Environment Agency won't grant a permit for it either (which will soon be statutory if they have their way) due to the close proximity of the mains sewer.

G_M

leccyblue wrote: »

Are you sure it is completely sealed? That would make it a cess pit, not a septic tank. These normally need to be emptied every 5 to 6 weeks! You'd need an absolutely huge tank to last you a year!

.

Maybe they are careful to minimise its use!

When sailing in the Med, one is not allowed to discharge the yacht's holding tank within 5 miles of the coast, which can be an issue if island hopping in Greece for example.

One gets used following the SOS practice: 'Sh** ON Shore'.

Or in this case, WAW (When At Work)!