Sewage problems..looking to buy

queenshopper

Looking to buy a rural cottage,price looks good and we love it.. However agent now tells us that the septic tank needs replacing..and has forwarded a quote for aprox three grand.. Delving deeper I believe there is some kind of environment agency licence to be obtained and a new system to be put in...does anyone have any experience in this?.. Just scared three grand could become fifteen!,,
Many thanks

Prothet_of_Doom

Right, I doubt that the licence wouldn't be forthcoming IF the contractor is approved by them or can provide references from numerous satisfied customers, so I don't think it will be a big problem. I don't imagine £3K will become £15K, but it might end up being £5K because who knows what the contractor will find when he tries to remove the old tank.

However, my MSE brain is saying: Why isn't the vendor doing it and providing guarantees and licence with the property ?
Assuming it's a cash flow issue, why should you take the risk, have the hassle, unless the house is already very cheap and nobody else can get a mortgage.
I'd be asking for £6K off the price to cover the hassle and I'd be getting more quotes (not estimates) to make sure that £3k isn't a "cowboy" price.
Have you fallen in love with this house ? Don't worry, after a couple of months you'll hate it. (joking)

princeofpounds

It depends what needs doing and what area of the country you live in, but that estimate sounds too low to me. It's not a hard job for a professional, and the kit itself isn't that expensive, but it involves quite a lot of dirt-shifting normally and that could cost a bit more.

Furthermore, if it isn't actually the septic tank that has a problem but rather the soakaway, that requires even more dirt to be shifted (and if you don't have an easy alternative you might have to import new dirt)

The new regulations are basically about the quality of the product you can install. Shouldn't be an issue, though obviously I can't guarantee anything!

Davesnave

If a 'new system' had to be put in, it wouldn't be a septic tank, as I understand these are gradually being phased out in favour of water treatment plants. The work would have to be licensed by the Environment Agency. It's quite possible the existing system isn't registered with the EA at present, as registration was optional and remains so for systems already in place.

However, if it's just the run-out which is blocked and inefficient, that means digging it up with a digger, making a new channel, lining it appropriately and replacing the seep pipe. In some areas of the country, that might not cost more than £3k. For example, I can get a digger for £200 a week.

Do you know where the run-out is, and whether it's all on what would become your land? I have a run out on my land without any agreement in place, which is all fine and dandy....until they need to replace it. It won't be able to meet the new regs, being way too close to a watercourse (inside 7m) so those folk are in for a big shock one day!

queenshopper

I think that's why...'those folk' are selling and not doing the work themselves... Agent has told me that the work does not need doing immediately but it was being emptied more often than it should..? Not sure if I will get a mortgage with this hanging over the property either...

bigadaj

Just looked on ea website and it appears that domestic discharge is excluded unless you're in a major aquifer so will depend on where you are in the country, or you're close to a watercourse as davesnave has said.

My parents live on a welsh farm and their sewage just discharges into what is nominally a soak way in the adjacent field which they own. They aren't near a watercourse but given they are on coal measures there isn't much infiltration.

There are peripheral befits though, that area generally has the best grass and looks particularly good during times of drought, green and lush!

Davesnave

queenshopper wrote: »

I think that's why...'those folk' are selling and not doing the work themselves... Agent has told me that the work does not need doing immediately but it was being emptied more often than it should..? Not sure if I will get a mortgage with this hanging over the property either...

At least they are being up-front about it, though the questions before contract sent out by any purchaser's solicitor would ask if the system was in proper working order. It wouldn't be smart for them to lie.

If the run-out is blocked, then the septic tank effectively becomes a cess pit, maybe requiring emptying every 6 weeks or so. It might not be picked up in a survey unless overflowing at the time (or exceptionally empty!)

I think you need more hard info, including a knowledge of where the pipe runs are. Personally, I wouldn't give up on a property I liked just because its septic tank was dysfunctional, but I'd want to be sure of the extra costs in fixing it.

Here's what the EA say about septic tanks in general terms:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/118753.aspx

And here's what one firm of solicitors say:

http://www.withyking.co.uk/uploads/news/840/Will_your_septic_tank_cost_you_your_property.pdf

Ivana_Tinkle

Absolutely agree with Dave that you need a lot more info. I'm no expert on septic tanks (and very much hope I'll never need to become one!), but when we bought our place we were told by the surveyor that, should our septic tank ever fail, replacing it would be a big deal because regulations have been tightened since it was installed, and we wouldn't be allowed to put one in the same place now - we'd need some kind of treament system, I think.

It would be a mistake to simply assume that you'd be able to replace the tank, like for like, which is presumably what the quote's for.

queenshopper

Met the owner yesterday who said that the soak away has had problems .. Contractor put a new one in and instead of putting baffling (?)down just put in onto shingle which is not good enough as area is clay .. Therefore the quote is for a new water treatment system with a company called Mantair...the clean water can be directed into a nearby ditch... Not sure how or if these systems work efficiently?

Davesnave

queenshopper wrote: »

Therefore the quote is for a new water treatment system with a company called Mantair...the clean water can be directed into a nearby ditch... Not sure how or if these systems work efficiently?

These are the systems that I said will supersede septic tanks.

I can't understand what the problem is and why you question their efficiency. They are now the Environment Agency's preferred option.

The company Mantair has been around for a decent time. They offer both new systems and a conversion unit specifically for the situation you describe. If they have already quoted then I'd ask to see the quote, or is it just an estimate?

Either way, I'd speak to them myself rather than rely on secondhand info and random people on a forum like this.

I'd also bear in mind if your budget is very tight, there's likely to be more than a dodgy septic tank to be tackled when purchasing a country cottage!

Debt_Free_Chick

queenshopper wrote: »

Met the owner yesterday who said that the soak away has had problems .. Contractor put a new one in and instead of putting baffling (?)down just put in onto shingle which is not good enough as area is clay .. Therefore the quote is for a new water treatment system with a company called Mantair...the clean water can be directed into a nearby ditch... Not sure how or if these systems work efficiently?

I have a septic tank and its operation is not helped by an incredibly high water table at the moment.

As a buyer, you really should be getting your own advice and your own assessment of this particular setup. It could well be that the current system is perfectly adequate, but that the problem is the water table. As I sit here on this lovely Spring day, the kitchen is permeated with the smell of $h!t (sorry!) and has been for the past 3 months.

This is unusual though and the first time I've experienced it in more than 10 years.

Suggest you get someone in to look at this - better to pay an independent adviser and not simply get a supplier of systems out. A supplier is bound to want to sell you a new system