How to prove that a borehole water supply is potable and uninterrupted for mortgage valuation?

Penri1980

Hi there,

I have recently had an offer accepted on a little rural cottage in the mid-Wales countryside and have applied for a mortgage. The lenders sent their surveyor out just after Christmas to value the property, and the report came back that they couldn't offer a mortgage on the property unless they could see evidence that the water from the borehole was potable and uninterrupted. I've contacted the estate agent to ask whether the vendors have anything that could prove this, but haven't heard back from them yet, so I did some research online but can't find conclusively if there is a standard report or certificate that I would need to provide the lenders to satisfy this concern. Also, if there's a cost involved in obtaining said report, would that typically be covered by the vendor, seeing as they will likely need it regardless of whether they sell to me or someone else?

If anyone has any experience, expertise or just useful links in this area, I would appreciate your help.

Thanks

user1977

Surely the first step is to ask the lender what sort of evidence they'd accept? No point in you getting lab tests etc and them then telling you you need something else.

Penri1980

@user1977 Good point, thanks. I'll ask if my mortgage broker can get some more details, as all they were provided thus far was that "the property is being declined pending specialist advice being received as follows: A confirmation of a potability and uninterrupted water supply report is required because of a private water supply from a borehole." Thanks for your help

stuart45

It's a good idea for your own benefit to get it tested. A lot of people in my area have private water supplies, and the majority have got UV and filter systems. 
Being a dairy farm area the amount of cattle can affect the water quality, as well as many other things. 

maisie_cat

Our local council in Pembrokeshire provides testing services for private water supplies, perhaps check the local council website for similar.

daivid

No experience on the mortgage side but grew up in a house with water from a spring. The water came to the house via a settling tank (an old bath with fine netting on top) and through a fine filter. We were fine with the water but my grandparents could only drink it boiled or they would get stomach upsets, I would say it is definitely something to look into as the previous owners may have been resistant to whatever was in the water and done nothing about a modern filtration system. 
My sister bought a house 8 years ago that draws its water from a stream, I don’t think the lender asked anything about water and as they were renovating the UV system they installed didn’t go in for some months after the purchase completed. 

OP I'm not convinced the vendor would pay for a the survey as a cash buyer certainly wouldn’t need one and it is possible that a different lender and surveyor may not notice/care about the issue. My gut feeling is the primary concern is regarding the reliability of the borehole - if the water table drops the house could be left with no water and significantly devalued/ needing expensive work to restore a water supply, but as others have already said the OP needs to contact the lender to ask what (if any) evidence they would accept in order to alleviate their concerns.

Little_bit_taller

Hi there. We were in the same situation. We couldn't get a mortgage until the vendor had installed a filtration system and had the drinking water tested. The water engineer who did the installation then provided a statement to the effect that the installation system was working properly. The vendor may have provided a statement that the water supply had never run dry.

Hope this helps.

Section62

Penri1980 said:

I have recently had an offer accepted on a little rural cottage in the mid-Wales countryside and have applied for a mortgage. The lenders sent their surveyor out just after Christmas to value the property, and the report came back that they couldn't offer a mortgage on the property unless they could see evidence that the water from the borehole was potable and uninterrupted. I've contacted the estate agent to ask whether the vendors have anything that could prove this, but haven't heard back from them yet, so I did some research online but can't find conclusively if there is a standard report or certificate that I would need to provide the lenders to satisfy this concern....

Getting the potability of water tested is fairly straightforward.  If the lenders want some form of professional 'proof' regarding reliability of the supply that may be harder to get.

It is within the specialism of a hydrologist, but because the presence of water in the ground is part of many natural processes it can be difficult to predict (with certainty) that it will always be there.  Unless whoever is acting for the lender has some knowledge of the subject, there is a risk of a professional report doing the opposite of reassuring them.  The report could simply open further cans of worms.

Therefore getting the lender to nail down what 'proof' would satisfy them should be the immediate priority, before commiting either yourself or the vendor to spending money getting reports which may simply confirm the lender's fears.

There are well boring companies that offer services of this type, but again you need to know that they have the professional technical expertise to provide a report of the type the lender wants (otherwise it is similar to getting a 'builder' to do a structural survey, i.e. of limited value)

Any idea where the nearest mains supply currently is?  The lender might be more comfortable with the property being connected to the mains (if feasible) which may be cheaper than getting the borehole tested and upgraded (the latter being possibly being necessary during your ownership anyway).

propertyrental

Lived on a country estate as a student and we had regulqr tummy issues. Eventually got the council round and they tested the water and discovered the source water came from a borehole that was below the level of the septic tank outfow......

Irrespective of the mortgage lender requirments you'd be mad not to get the water tested (just as most people get the boiler tested and/or have a house survey done)

Guaranteeing the supply will be uninterrupted is also something you'd be wise to consider, though impossible to guarantee. But a straight Q to the sellers (" how long have you been there and has the water supply ever been inyterrupted? If so how often, when and for how long?")

Speaking to neighbours, if any, might also provide you with reassurance (though won't help with the mortgage!)

deepdown

@Penri1980 how did you get on with this? I'm in the same position so curious to know what you had to provide in the end. Thank you.

Bookworm225

deepdown said:

@Penri1980 how did you get on with this? I'm in the same position so curious to know what you had to provide in the end. Thank you.

same start point applies, what evidence will your lender accept? What others got in the end is irrelevant to your context.

BTW the OP was last active on here in Sept 2024 so unlikely to reply to you now.